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15 10 2009
The Life in Kosovo show discussed the role that civil servants play in electoral campaigns, as well as the way the civil service in Kosovo will function for that period.
What are some of the responsibilities and duties of the new mayors?
Is the law on local self-governance being implemented?
To discuss these and other issues regarding civil servants, the following joined Muhamet Hajrullahu on the Life in Kosovo show:
Sadri Ferati, Minister for Local Government
Bajram Rexhepi, mayor of Mitrovica and head of the Kosovo Municipality Association
Ilir Deda, from KIPRED
Ismet Kryeziu, from Kosovo Democracy Institute, KDI
Before the discussion, an in-depth analysis prepared by BIRN journalist Muhamet Hajrullahu was shown about how the civil service will function during the electoral campaign.
Sadri Ferati, Minister for Local Government, was asked for his opinion on the fact that some civil servants are participating in the electoral campaign despite clear indications that such activities are prohibited. He said that his directives had been clear on the issue.
Ferati stressed that those who will be candidates for local assemblies and work as civil servants at the same time will not get paid during the election month.
If they are elected to the assembly, he or she will be asked to choose between acting as civil servant or the elected position.
Bajram Rexhepi, mayor of Mitrovica and head of the Kosovo Municipality Association, said that he supports the directive that Ferati and minister Arsim Bajrami had issued. He also said that the problem was that candidates were not willing to lose two wages.
When asked whether he brought this issues up in the Kosovo Municipality Association, Rexhepi said that they had discussed this, but according to him, Kosovo Municipality Association does not have the authority to impose new laws.
Ilir Deda, from KIPRED said that the fact that civil servants want to keep receiving their wages even when they are running for a political position said more than enough about how politicised the civil service is in Kosovo.
Ismet Kryeziu, from Kosovo Democracy Institute, KDI, was of the opinion that even if the “politicised” civil servants will not receive their wages during elections. He said the main problem was whether they will be able to act responsibly as civil servants during those times.
He said that KDI will pressure institutions to apply this law.
Rexhepi, on the other hand, said that he will insist that civil servants concentrate on their duties as civil servants during their schedule, and they will be free to do whatever they want, including working on their electoral campaign, after those working hours.
He said that the idea that civil servants can be totally depoliticised is unrealistic, even in the most advanced countries.
Deda stressed that the Ministry for Local Government reports cases when the law of local government is broken. After that, it is central government’s responsibility to act correspondingly and take appropriate measures.
When asked about the law of local self-governance, Ferati said that this law is a great achievement and in the next four years mayors of the respective cities will be able to take advantage of the new law. According to him, the mayors’ powers will be greater than before.
Regarding the issue of how well the mayors have used their powers from December 2008 to this day, Deda said that the implementation of this law of local self governance was very low.
BIRN ended the show with a report which discussed last year’s warnings from the European Commission progress report as well as a Week’s Highlight report on achievements in Kosovo’s judiciary.
Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television, RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20.
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
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