Official travels and luxury wages costing the state budget

Official trips abroad, wages and large numbers of those involved in official delegations cost Kosovo's budget huge sums of money, which, according to civil society representatives, represents a particular luxury.

The poorest state officials in Europe, even a decade after Kosovo's declaration of independence, continue to retaliate with “sic documents were once called in the provisional institutions of self-government”, which were drafted and empowered at the time of the UN administration, respectively. UNMIK.

Due to intransparability and lack of control of expenditures, official travel and the wages, not rarely are abused by officials, say representatives of nongovernmental organisations.

With budget money, these officials, according to civil society representatives, take with them counselors, assistants or, in some cases, members of their families to perform their official obligations and to mark the luxury “, accommodated in expensive hotels in various parts of the world.

For these trips once, they also get good hires from the budget, Kosovo taxpayers respectively.
Artan Murati, analyst from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, says it is absurd that the list of wages drafted since the UNMIK administration's time is still in force in 2004.
According to this regulation, the value of wages for official trips abroad is higher for visits made to countries extending on the geographical map closer to Kosovo.

We can see the large disk in the amount of wages that government officials get. They're hiring more for a trip to Albania than in the United States. It is absurd that the highest amount of wages be for Albania. But, this is designed only to benefit more, since the largest number of meetings so far has been held in Albania”, Murati told Radio Free Europe.

Under this regulation, the stay for official visits to Albania, with a daily cost of 209 euros, becomes more convenient than the one in Canada, where, regardless of the distance, officials are scheduled to pay 180 euros a day.
And in another country -- in Europe, whether in Austria or Denmark -- the overnight stay for a Kosovo official is 198 euros, respectively, 179 euros, while in Germany, 255 euros, while in Australia 160 euros.
Meanwhile, the wages exceeding 320 euros are those in Italy, Japan and Israel, while in Georgia the visits are more expensive, where officials are paid 400 euros.

Yugoslavia, which already does not exist as a state, still figures on this list, where the salary of 204 euros a day is spent.
Taking these fees for hire, staying Bytyqi, legal official in the non-governmental organisation “FOL”, tells Radio Free Europe that the document, which was drafted in UNMIK's time, should change anyway.
In addition to changing the value of wages, he says the reason for the participation of officials on trips abroad should be specified.

Because we are witnesses that in most cases these can be used for tourist purposes, and these are covered by taxpayers. Therefore, these must be changed correctly known for the purpose of the official visit and the number assigned and not reached that large number. There have been cases where up to 60 officials in a delegation have been involved, for which large budget tools have been spent, which they can use for better projects”, Bytyqi said.
Otherwise, even the general audience, in a letter sent to Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, has called for attention to the priority treatment on the part of the Administrative Guide Government 2004/2007 for official travel.
This guide, according to the General Auditor, does not respond to the demands of time and as such does not contribute to regular, sound and literal management of public money.

However, in addition to the right of material compensation for labour during official trips, some of the state officials, especially Kosovo Assembly deputies, along with the monthly salary, receive additional income for participation in the Assembly sessions and commissions, covering phone and oil derivative spending, and working on other troops outside its regular activities.
The 120 deputies of the Republic of Kosovo Assembly, in addition to the monthly salary of about 1500 euros a month, for two sessions during the month, they receive 240 euros.
For participation in parliamentary commission meetings, however, they earn an additional 160 euros.
Thus, as a whole, the MP's monthly income, including the wages, amounts to or even exceeds the amount of 2,000 euros.