Government has no idea how much 67 deputy ministers cost

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj's government cabinet, by civil society representatives and opposition, is being deemed overcrowd. Especially is it about the large number of deputy ministers. Currently, 67 deputy ministers are employed, leaving behind the large number, even some European Union countries, say representatives of nongovernmental organisations.

The government cabinet so far consists of Ramush Haradinaj prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, 21 ministers and 67 deputy ministers.

Halil Matoshi, media adviser to the Kosovo prime minister's cabinet, says there is no account of the financial cost of these deputy ministers, but according to him, the broad ruling coalition has brought about such a situation.

“Secila minister reasons or justifys this number by describing the jobs or actions that these deputy ministers will take. And you know we're dealing with a big coalition, with 22 subjects and political groups, so that's the situation that's”, Matoshi told Radio Free Europe.

From civil society, it is estimated that the financial cost of covering expenditures due to the large number of deputy ministers is high.

Arton Demhay from the Organisation for Democracy, Anti-Corruption and Dinjitie “Arise”, says these government positions cost the budget up to threem euros a year.

He estimates that a number, according to him, so large of deputy ministers and political positions, is not designed to perform necessary work in Government, but to meet political parties' egos for top government positions.

In case there are over 60 deputy ministers, with 1,000 euros minimum salary, each has the right to have two assistants, approximately second at a salary of about 1,000 euros. So from the start it's only initial salaries per month that are 120 thousand euros. Let's not talk about other services, such as telephone expenses, foreign travel wages, oil derivatives, and so forth. Then I can say that only their deputy ministers and aid staff can exceed the number of three million euros per year”, Demhayan says.

Given these calculations, it turns out that expenditures for deputy ministers, during a four-year term, would cost Kosovo's budget over 12m euros.

Even former Finance Minister Avdullah Hoti, currently deputy in the Assembly from the Democratic League of Kosovo, says employing around 70 deputy ministers -- with three staff -- will cost around 3.5m euros.

Increasing the number of ministries and deputy ministers' positions, in addition to the financial cost, creates difficulties in co-ordination, says Florent Spahija, legal adviser at the Kosovo Democratic Institute.

“I think the Government of Kosovo should focus on reducing the number of deputy ministers, but also on reducing the number of ministries within the government cabinet, and focusing on effective work in order to achieve the goals it has set ahead of such as Government”, Spahija says.

By contrast, civil society has been estimated that Kosovo consistently had Government with more ministries than a small country's executive needs.

With critical tones to major government cabinets, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj himself had expressed himself, at the time he was part of the opposition. / REL