Kosovo government silents against British embassy criticism of MTI's appointment

The government has named Burim Recaj in the position of Secretary General in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, bypassing the only candidate to have met the conditions, Gentiana Islamaj.

The British Embassy had said the only candidate to have met the criteria for this position has not been appointed.

The final resolution in the professional opinion of our Working Partner finds that only one person had met the criteria to be appointed to this position. Other candidates had come up with fewer points and were not the level for appointment in this position. The only candidate to have fulfilled the” criteria has not been named in that position, had praised the British Embassy in Kosovo.

The newspaper Inseyder has asked the Government of Kosovo to clarify this situation, even the position of the British Embassy, but they have not returned.
Some civil society organizations have reacted to this decision, viewing it as a continuation of the practice of legal violations.

With the decision 1126, the Government has named Burim Rhecaj Secretary General of the MTI, even though he failed to meet the criteria for this high position in civilian service.
For interviewing candidates for MTI Secretary General, the assessment commission has also been supported by the British company, according to the Kosovo Government's signed memorandum with the British Embassy in Pristina.
Based on the British company's assessment and the assessment commission, the only candidate to have met the criteria for appointment of Secretary General was Gentiana Islamaj, who by the end of January 2018 was the task of the secretary general in MTI.

Burim Rrecaj, who was elected by the Government in question, was ranked fourth with scores. He managed to get included on the list of three candidates the Public Administration Ministry has sent to Government only after leaving the process inexplicably one of the candidates.

According to Article 15, paragraph 3, of the Civil Service Law, The MAP sends the Government the selection of one of the three best candidates on the basis of assessments by the assessment commission.

Civil society organisations say that “would be logical for the government to select the candidate/en who has received the largest number of scores, rather than selecting candidates who do not meet the criteria for that post”.
Moreover, Burim Rrecaj was part of the party's election list Initiative for a member of Pristina's Municipal Assembly.

In all of this process, it has been estimated that the Kosovo government has violated the memorandum signed on 11 October with the British Embassy, whose purpose has been to appoint the best people to top leadership positions.

The goal of the Memorandum of Understanding is to, in accordance with the legislation in force, support the joint efforts to ensure empowerment, independence, meritocracy and professionalism in the process of recruiting high-ranking positions in civil service and public enterprise boards”, says at the start of the memorandum 1.