The deputy ministers' phenomeni personally accepts them: We're too much.

In the government cabinet led by Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, more than 70 deputy ministers are employed, the number that has been repeatedly criticised by representatives of civil society with the agreement that, in addition to damaging Kosovo's budget, makes government work malfunctioning.

In opinion, there has often been a dilemma about what all these deputy ministers can work on, considering that even countries with a population much larger than Kosovo do not have so many employees in sub-administration positions.

That there are large numbers of deputy ministers in the government, they accept it themselves.

The current ruling coalition consists of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, the Social Democratic Initiative, the New Kosovo Alliance, the Serbian List, which only partly participates in the executive work and several other smaller parties.

Ali Berisha from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo is deputy health minister. Berisha says tasks at the ministry he works with are divided, but that he does not deny the fact that the large number in certain cases prevents efficient work.

Because it was a specific political agreement, since the current government is created by many political parties, based on that agreement is such a number of ministers. But if they were fewer ministers they would be more functional”, Berisha said.

Vesel Krasniqi from the Kosovo Initiative party is deputy minister of agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development.

Krasniqi, who ranks among the other five deputy ministers in the ministry, says commitment and work are all for everyone, but in certain cases, he says, this number can complicate matters.

The “is a little difficult, not for us as deputy ministers, but little is difficult for departments, for directors who need to report and each requires notes, reports from them”, Krasniqi says.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Management, besides the minister, has five deputy ministers employed. Wessel Makolli is one of them. He thinks the ministry has a lot of work in it and it is necessary to have such a large number of deputy ministers.

A minister and deputy minister are actually called a problem of commitment. If properly co-ordinated, as in our ministry, a deputy minister, a department is in order, we report the department work, we are in contact with base”, Veselin points out.

Civil society, however, strongly criticises the employment of such a large number of deputy ministers.

“Such a large number of deputy ministers and political positions is not assigned to perform necessary tasks in Government, but to meet the egos of political parties for top government positions”, said Arton Demhay from the Organisation for Democracy, Anti-Corruption and Dinjitie “; arise”.

Apart from the budgetary burden being done, it's a kind of irresponsible, not knowing who's responsible for being stuck in a certain field. It is not known whether the minister or any deputy minister is responsible. The responsibility has been distributed and is not known who is the primary responsibility”, Demhasaj says.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has asked his government's 21 ministers to delegate jobs and responsibilities to each deputy prime minister so that this large number can turn to benefit the country's citizens.

Otherwise, according to civil society representatives, these government positions cost the budget up to threem euros a year, as a deputy minister's monthly salary is about 1,200 euros.

The deputy minister also has the right to have administrative staff, such as assistants and personal drivers.

On the other hand, the office chief that the chief of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Natalia Apostolova, has said last week she would like the money spent on the salaries of 75 deputy ministers to be used for deep reform in education.