Hamza shows how salary hikes will take place

Finance Minister Bedri Hamza has made it clear that the salary hike for civil servants will be made on the basis of productivity. He made that statement after his meeting with International Monetary Fund Mission leader Jacques Minian, where he said Kosovo's budget would be over 2 billion.

After the meeting, Minister Hamza did not mention percentages of how much pay would increase, but said they did not just get to give.

Hazma has been unclear when asked about social schemes and war veterans' payments. According to him, the funds are provided, but it is expected by the ministers of the line and the commission to do their categories.

It's a 16-point point 2, which requires recategorisation of war veterans, but one point below the same article says that until the division of this part is carried out, it goes on in the law of the basic law.. So we are at the moment where we may like it or not despise a law while it is in force to respect it. I believe, the ministry of the line, the relevant commission will do its part of the job and complete the process. Otherwise we've managed to secure the means needed to implement the current law that is in force and regulate this issue without changing the height of the primary deficit and always maintaining the neutrality that we have by law that during the revision of the revision in terms of revenues and budget exits should be neutral. We've acted in this way and we've prosecuted and provided enough funds so that by the end of 2017 these payments will be realised when we get our budget without obstacles. As for next year we are obliged to do the budget on the basis of the current laws in force, if the head and I believe that it is also a legal requirement and that I believe that they will consider it when it is done we will see which savings will be saved from recathgorized”, Hazma said.

While on the issue of public sector wage growth, Hamza has made it clear that growth reflects growing productivity. And it also said that calyptal projects, road construction for Peja Mitrovica, would take place when existing projects are completed.

Whether to raise salaries, I want to make it clear that it should reflect on growth in productivity, increase in discipline, and increase capacity. It's not enough just asking for a raise, it's not enough just to pick up, but to give... In the existing space at the moment when existing projects are completed we will add new projects that are the priority of Government”, Hamza said.

The IMF mission's representative, while Jacques Minean, has said that as far as spending is concerned, these will not endanger the state budget and, despite the rise of these expenditures, the IMF believes the budget deficit will stand as it was in the original budget.

He said he is sure that next year, the budget aloche will reflect on the number of war veterans and pensioners, and despite the arrangements, the IMF believes these could be placed within the fiscal rule. He also stressed that one of the principles IMF and Kosovo authorities agreed on is control of current expenditures, adding that the IMF's priority is to maintain the budget sharing for priority spending in areas such as education, energy and infrastructure investments. He said immediate economic growth, which would later remain frozen, is not good for a state.

What's ideal is that wages are raised regularly, but reasonable and sustainable for economic trends, and that's the goal of real wage rules that were approved on the programme. In terms of your economic growth question, we have reviewed real GDP growth from about 3 and half to 4 percent, for this year and for next year“, Minian said.

When asked why the IMF mission has failed, he said that as far as this issue is concerned, he must improve a false perception, saying the IMF programme did not fail.