Opinion: The cleric’s legacy July 20 - August 30, 2012 Issue No. 93 www.prishtinainsight.com Price € 1 NEWS Serb Threat to Official’s Murders Declaration of Assets Strike Fear > page 3 BUSINESS Into Kosovo Privatisation Chiefs Pocket ‘Illegal’ Village Payouts The murder of a well- > page 6 respected Serbian cou- BUSINESS ple has left their once EU Nudges Kosovo peaceful village in rural to Avoid Energy Kosovo in shock. Monopoly See Page 4 Prizren Mayor’s Advisor > page 7 NEIGHBOURHOOD Macedonia Murder Suspects Languish Won “Fake” Tenders in Detention A firm owned by an advisor to the mayor of Prizren won 50,000 euro in consultancy contracts in 2011 from the munici- > page 11 pality, although auditors found no proof it ever did any work. FEATURE a number of laws, including the Shpejti, whose AKR party is in In March 2011, a contract for Denial of Memory By Petrit Collaku law on public procurement of 2011 partnership with the mayor’s 9,200 euro was awarded to Dituri and the law on the prevention of Democratic Party of Kosovo, for “consultancy” services. rsim Shpejti, political advi- conflicts of interest also from PDK. In April, a further 9,750 euro sor to Prizren Mayor ARamadan Muja, secured 2011. “I am not being paid for my post was awarded for “education and 50,000 euro in four contracts from According to the public pro- as an advisor,” Shpejti added. “I training” and in July 2011, he won the municipality in 2011 – a tidy curement law “a contracting was not paid as deputy mayor, another “consultancy” contract sum in a country where the aver- authority shall treat economic either, so the aim of this work [the for 9,980 euro. age monthly salary for a civil ser- operators equally”, which would contracts] has been for me to The only contract put out to > page 12-14 vant is around 300 euro. rule out any prior arrangement receive a proper salary.” public tender, for “capacity build- Shpejti, member of the New for a tender to substitute a salary. According to documents ing for civil servants”, in Kosovo Alliance party, AKR, who The law on conflicts of interest obtained by Prishtina Insight, November 2011 was again won by was briefly deputy mayor to Muja, obliges officials to transfer shares Shpejti’s firm won four contracts, Dituri, for 19,200 euro. confirmed to Prishtina Insight in any enterprise they hold to a three of which were worth just This was despite the fact that that his firm, Dituri, had won the trusted party during their “dis- under 10,000 euro and, as a result, only two firms, including his, pre- Kosovo’s only English-language contracts, explaining that the ten- charge of public functions”. were not subject to public tenders. sented bids. At least three offers newspaper is available: ders had been set up in lieu of a “I took this position [of advi- Instead, the municipality invit- are required by law. regular salary. sor] as a compromise between the ed three firms, including Dituri’s, Delivered to The deals appeared to violate of coalitions in Prizren,” said to bid for each contract. continues page 2 Your Door Kosovo’s ‘Independence’ Stirs Scandal-Hit Firm to Build Both From Newsstands Debate on PM’s Power Kosovo’s Landmark Squares across Kosovo Kosovo will remain constrained by the A company with a history of overcharg- Sent To international community following the ing is now the main contractor to build two Your Inbox end of its “supervised independence” in prestigious new squares in the capital of September, experts say, responding to fears Kosovo in deals worth more than 10 million that the changes will give too many powers euro. From to Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. Ibrahim Rugova and Zahir Pajaziti our partners According to one political expert, when squares are intended to provide Prishtina news the International Civil... page 5 inside with a central focal point... page 18 see page 16 for more info is supported by: 2 July 20 - August 30, 2012 news Mayor’s Advisor Fire Damages Kosovo Wins “Fake” Exhumation Site U’s Rule of Tenders Law Mission Eto Kosovo, from page 1 EULEX, has launched an investi- news in brief news Before the payments were disbursed, gation to find out the causes of the the municipality set up a committee to fire which broke out see if the company had met its obliga- over the weekend at tions under the contracts. the exhumation site In each case, the municipality con- in Zhilivoda. cluded that “Dituri had performed serv- EULEX said that ices in a satisfactory manner”. the fire caused When the Office of the Auditor “extensive damage” to the site, at the exact loca- General demanded proof of this, the tion where the exhumation was taking place. municipality could not provide any doc- Arsim Shpejti, advisor to the Prizren Mayor Ramadan Muja “This is a significant set-back for our site umentary evidence that consultancy assessment. There has been considerable dam- work had been carried out. the municipality in November 2011, they ny,” Rexha told Prishtina Insight. age to walls which will now have to be demol- “During 2011 the municipality had all interns said they had never been “We have followed carefully where the ished. The excavation work has been put on contracted four private companies to paid. money went and we concluded that the hold,” said Alan Robinson, Co-Head of the provide professional consulting services “I asked some of the interns but they money was well spent,” he added. Department of Forensic Medicine in a press by providing practitioners[interns] in told me that they were not paid for their According to the Ministry of Trade release on Tuesday. the municipality, in the amount of 48,630 internships,” Florim Maliqi, the auditor, and Industry register of business, Dituri The fire-fighters spent two days fighting the euro. said. closed in May this year, not long before blaze at the exhumation site, before bringing “But, although payment was made for Maliqi added that it was significant the auditor’s report was published. the fire under control on Monday afternoon. the provision of professional consultan- that the municipality did not query the Shpejti, 48, was named vice mayor to According to EULEX, a 12 meter high wall was cy services, we were not offered any evi- finding that no consultancy work had Muja on March 2010, after the local elec- in flames. dence about who was offering these serv- been carried out when presented with a tions in Kosovo in late 2009. The exhumation at Zhilivoda, a small village ices,” the auditor added. draft copy of the audit. But Muja was forced to remove Shpejti in the municipality of Vushtrri/Vucitrn began The documents related to payment to The vice mayor of Prizren, Ruzhdi from his post under pressure from the on August 31, 2010. Since then, the work has interns, obtained by Prishtina Insight, Rexha, and Shpejti denied not having opposition in the city assembly. One twice been interrupted by bad weather condi- show sums ranging from 150 euro to 900 paid the interns. deputy mayor’s post is normally tions. The area is one of the biggest potential euro on documents without headers or But Rexha admitted that Shpejti’s firm reserved for a party representing ethnic exhumation sites discovered in Kosovo in the company names. was specifically set up to receive the con- minority interests. past few years. There were also no signatures from tracts. In June 2010, Shpejti returned to the There are no official figures concerning the the municipality, from Dituri or from the He said that the municipality had out- town hall after being appointed first number of bodies in the mass grave but a interns who were supposed to receive sourced consultancy services to political advisor to the mayor. He still Belgrade delegation said recently that it sus- the funds. In total, 25,200 euro appears to Shpejti’s firm, as they were not able to holds this position. pects that the remains of more than 20 Kosovo have been allocated for interns. offer him any salary as an individual. Prishtina Insight contacted nine of Serbs may be found there. According to the auditor, who looked “So, he opened a firm, in order to par- the interns to verify whether they were into Prizren’s accounts when he visited ticipate in these tenders with his compa- paid but received no reply. Dell, Surroi in War of Words he outgoing US Belgrade Police Pressurise Serbs, TAmbassador to Kosovo Christopher Dell Kosovo Official Claims and founder of the Koha media group A senior Kosovo official says Serbia has deployed hundreds of police Veton Surroi have in Kosovo, who threaten any Kosovo Serbs who want to integrate. traded verbal blows in the media this Serbia, the diplomat asked Serbia’s week. President, Tomislav Nikolic, to stop Dell gave an inter- financing security forces in the north- view, published last By Fatmir Aliu ern Serb-run part of Kosovo. Wednesday, in the Serbia has never admitted officially newspaper Kosova Sot in which he claimed that that it has security forces in Kosovo. Veton Surroi, who set up the political party Ora But Rexhepi says that the Kosovo as well as newspaper Koha Ditore, had begged erbia has a well established police Police already have proof that Serbia is the Prime Minister Hashim Thaci for the post of network in Kosovo, which it uses to deploying such forces all around the Spressurise Kosovo Serbs not to rec- president in late 2010.