News: Government Underspends by 165 Million Euro in 2009 December 24, 2009 - January 01, 2010 Issue No. 30 www.prishtinainsight.com Free copy Uncontrolled FEATURE Construction Calls to Boom Leaves Comme- Buildings Empty morate the Prishtina’s post-war con- struction boom is showing Bard of now signs of slowing Prishtina despite the increasing num- ber of large office and resi- > page 7 dential blocks lying empty across the city. ARTE Safet Gerxhaliu, vice- president of the Kosova See in the New Year Chamber of Commerce, OEK, told Prishtina Insight in Style that there was an oversup- ply of new buildings in > page 10 Kosovo’s capital... GUIDE Turn to page 6 for full story. Skopje’s Beautiful Back Streets Anticorruption Agency: 150 Fraud > page 8 FOOD & DRINK Cases, 0 Trails Breathing Space and Kosovo’s Anticorruption Agency has sent 150 cases of fraud to the Prosecutor for trail, but not one of these has reached court. Chalet Comfort at resulting in 150 case files of data ruption. Therefore, we need the documents] to be translated, then Hani By Besiana Xharra and documents being submitted to strong support of the government.” they must examine our laws and so the Prosecutor. He said that the amount of infor- on.” he director of Kosovo’s > page 9 Of these, he said, 61 cases have mation being passed to his agency But Preteni stresses that it is not Anticorruption Agency has been reviewed and 7 indictments was increasing year on year, adding EULEX’s responsibility to eradi- CITY Tcalled on the government to issued, but none has resulted in a that the majority of the allegations cate corruption in Kosovo. help in the fight against fraud as court appearance. centre on the judiciary, public “We have delivered many cases Bells Toll Again at not one of the agency’s investiga- He also complains that in some enterprises, the government and to EULEX, but this doesn’t mean tions has resulted in a court case. cases, officials have been arrested local government. that we are expecting EULEX to Orthodox Church Hasan Preteni said he was unhap- or suspended from their job, before Frustrated with inaction and solve Kosovo’s problems,” he said. py with the support he was receiv- returning to work without facing refusals on the part of Kosovo “We need their support, but after Six Year ing from the government and the justice. institutions, the agency has begun Kosovo’s institutions must take performance of Kosovo’s judiciary, “I am not happy about this,” to send cases to the EU rule-of-law responsibility for corruption in Silence which he said was blocking the Preteni told Prishtina Insight. “We mission in Kosovo, EULEX. Kosovo. Therefore, we hope that work of his agency by not process- have established an institution Preteni said: “When cases have things will change, primarily > page 6 ing cases. which is respected by citizens who been rejected by the prosecution, through reforms to the judiciary,” The agency has received 400 com- contact us every day, but we are we have submitted them to said Preteni. plaints about corruption since it only a link in a chain of powerful EULEX. But procedures at EULEX NGO FOCUS was launched in February 2007, institutions which should fight cor- take time because they need [the Continues page 3 Sharpening Legal News Business Minds – Kosovo Law Returning to the Front Line in Agriculture Growth Strangled by Institute Kroi i Vitakut/Brdjani ‘Unaffordable’ Loans > page 14 Quiet has again descended on the con- Kadri Krasniqi hoped to build a farm troversial neighbourhood of Kroi i for himself and his ten family members Vitakut/Brdjani. in Lipjan, on the southern outskirts of The small village outside of Mitrovica Prishtina, to secure their financial was rarely out of the spotlight this sum- future. But after numerous attempts to mer as large and sometimes violent find an affordable loan, he gave up. protests were held by local Serbs, angry “I had planned to invest more than at attempts to reconstruct Kosovo 10,000 euro in the agricultural sector, but Albanian homes... page 4 the interest rates are... page 5 is supported by: 2 • December 24, 2009 - January 01, 2010 marketing news • December 24, 2009 - January 01, 2010 3 Government Underspends by Editor’s word 165 Million Euro in 2009 Befasi Ministry of Finance tells Prishtina Insight that other ministries were ‘out of ideas and project’ Shpend Ahmeti, head of the think- By Lawrence Marzouk tank Institute for Advanced Studies, said: “The situation has improved from year to year, but we still need to ZAP sounds like an organi- By Fatos Halili improve a lot. In a country with sation which means busi- alarming levels of unemployment, Kness. poverty, trade imbalance, it is irra- But the Election Commission on osovo’s government will fin- tional for the government to run a Appeals and Complaints, ECAC, as ish 2009 with a budget surplus surplus, and at the same time as ask- it is known under its slightly less Kof 165million euro, up from ing donors to give us even more punchy, English title, had failed to 74million euro in 2008. funds.” deliver on its aggressive sounding According to figures released by The Ministry of Trade and acronym – until last week. the Ministry of Finance, 85 per cent Industry used 65 per cent of the The organisation had a shambol- of the 1.1billion national budget has 9.2million euro allocated to it. Fatos ic run-up to Kosovo’s historic poll, been used so far this year. Sahiti, economic advisor to the min- only securing an office and website In 2008, the government said its ister, told Prishtina Insight: “We on the eve of the election. 74million euro surplus was down to decided to save some money this Even when it finally got going, its not completing some tenders it had year and that is the reason we have a website was crap and it just about planned to carry out. surplus of 3.5 million euro. This byPhoto Insight Prishtina for Rrahmani Petrit Kosovo’s government building in central Prishtina managed to fumble its way through This year, with an underspend of money will help with next year’s pre-election complaints about pre- 165million euro, the Ministry of budget.” “We have supported all of our euro from a 8.7million euro budget. mature campaigning. Finance told Prishtina Insight: The Ministry of Agriculture and projects but I cannot tell you exactly An official in its economic depart- The situation didn’t improve “There are some ministry’s that Rural Development spent 40 per cent why we have not managed to spend ment said: “We have financed every after the first round of the local haven’t spent their budget because of its budget. 100 per cent.” project for constructing new homes elections on November 15, when they were out of ideas and projects.” A spokesman said: “We are still This ministry, up until December and projects which help communi- KZAP rejected more than half of Some ministries in 2009 spent as vetting the process of the autumn 23, had only spent 5million euro ties return to their homes. We have complaints on technicalities. little as 40 per cent of their budget, sowing, and after we have finished from its 12.5million euro pot. financed all our projects but it looks Rules are rules, but given the while others, such as the Ministry of this verification we hope to achieve The Ministry for Communities like the projects were not enough [to organisation’s invisible public Transport, spent more. about 80 per cent of the budget. and Returns has spent 6.5million spend our entire budget].” information campaign and the absence of an online complaint option, especially taking into account Kosovo’s erratic postal sys- Two Reruns, One Recount tem, this finickity approach appeared to be the product of The Central Election Commission, CEC, has decided to rerun elections in Prizren and Lipjan and recount votes in Gjilan after pedantry or self-preservation, serious fraud and irregularities were discovered rather than a desire to tackle seri- ous concerns of fraud in the first sion. We have advised them,” Rrecaj round. KZAP was shaping up to be said. a real KFLOP. “The only order we can give to the But, late last week, a now embold- By Petrit Collaku CEC is to annul the results based on ened commission head, Tahir the investigation of certain ballots,” Rrecaj, emerged from the muddle of he said. the past few months with a remark- lections are to be rerun in two Following the comments, the CEC ably frank assessment of the may- municipalities and votes ordered a rerun in two municipalities oral run-off and a demand for the Erecounted in another, after and a recount in the other. The elec- elections to be rerun in three fraud and irregularities were discov- tion is expected to take place in late municipalities. ered by the Election Commission on January or early February. He assessed that there was evi- Appeals and Complaints, ECAC. Rrecaj sent a two-page document to dence of serious irregularities and ECAC advised the CEC on the CEC last weekend, revealing that intentional election fraud in the December 21 to conduct a rerun of the there was suspicion of irregularities, majority of polling centres in December 13 mayoral runoff election vote steeling and fraud in more than Gjilan, Prizren and Lipjan. in Prizren, Gjilan and Lipjan. half of polling stations in the three With this, Rrecaj ‘kzapped’ the On Monday, CEC said it needed municipalities.