Kosovo starts in 2019 with over 250,000 social families

Kosovo continues to be the poorest country in Southeast Europe, where 34% of the population live in absolute poverty, with daily income below 1,55 euros, and another 12% live in extreme poverty (1.02 euros). Driven by the destructive war, but even after a decade after declaring independence, Kosovo is among the poorest in the Balkans and Europe.

As such, we are entering 2019, where according to official statistics from the Ministry of Labour and Social Management, there are over 25 thousand families who are part of the Social Assistance Centre (SNS).

“in December 2018, the country's social assistance has exploited 25.345 families, with 103.399 family members, the number of requests for social assistance within a month is approximately the same, up to 400 requests, while in line with the legal criteria for social assistance qualify somewhere around 200-250 families”, the MPMS response for Index.

On the other hand, officials from this minister have stressed that the number of families that use socialism from 2015 to now has been brought in from 25 thousand to 26 thousand households.

The number of requests and the number of households exploiting social aid from February 2015 to now the number of families in aid ranges from 25,000 to 26,000 families”, said among other things in their response.

And the largest number of social requirements are from the Mitrovica municipality, Pristina and so on.

That the economic-Social situation is not good, and economic connoisseurs say.

Lulzim Beqiri tells Indexline that Kosovo has wrong strategies regarding social schemes, where the high number of families on the border of extreme poverty is testified to.

Beqiri says it is very possible that in 2019 spending on social scheme will reach over 430m euros.

“According to a document by the Ministry of Labour and Social Management called “Regulating and Management Pensions Field and Beneficiations from Social Security”, social schemes for 2018 will cost around 380m euros. When we bear in mind that some laws on new schemes are in approval procedure, others are waiting to proceed and by counting on the natural increase of beneficiaries, it is very likely that in 2019 the cost of over 430m euros will amount to this report. According to the AKS in 2017, the retirement plans are: 122,716 benefits of basic age pensions, of them 43,300 earners of retirement benefits of age; 19,481 retirement benefits for disabled persons; 12,472 per pension earners for martyrs and disabled families; 36,032 earners with war veterans; 3,232 per capita pensioner; 1,001 per pensioner of Kosovo Protection Corps; 288 per pensioner for Kosovo Security and 2,032x+5, has told the blind persons.

He has said that this way of social scheme is wrong strategy and that another is needed to lower the number of such social cases.

Many Kosovo families are on the border of extreme poverty. According to official data from the Ministry of Labour and Social Management this year, there are 25 thousand and 250 families that are part of the Social Assistance Centre (SNS). So I think this shows the government's wrong strategy regarding social schemes, so I think we need another economic development strategy in order to reduce the number of social cases”, said in his responses.

On the other hand, sociologist Leutrim Sahiti for Indexline has said that the large number of families receiving social assistance is a high unemployment rate in Kosovo.

“So these families, according to official statistics, have failed to get out of their economic situation and each year have been a burden to the Kosovo budget. The large number of families receiving social assistance is a high unemployment indicator in the country. Social assistance has had to be guided to support families so that they could be employed after some time and be able to live an active”, Sahiti said.

On the other hand, sociologist Sahiti has added that social assistance policies have left many people capable of work in inactivity.

He has stressed, however, that society and business must fight prejudice and accept even those with limited abilities.

Social assistance policies, many families, and skilled employees have left them in constant inactivity. Social aid families, excluding those with no working members, had to be more supportive of employment, other forms of training, so that they could generate income for their families. Thus their dignity would be preserved, and they would not feel themselves a burden to the State. In the end, society, private businesses must fight prejudices and accept disabled people to work, and thus those who can and wish to be employed to escape from social assistance” have said among other things Sahiti.

In contrast, in 2017 there were 26 thousand and 375 beneficial social families, and in 2016, 26 thousand and 302 families.

And in 2010 there were over 36 families with social assistance, reports Indexline.

According to legal and underground acts, to realise the right to social assistance, all family members must be citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, except for foreign citizens who:

Have they any permission to stay behind?

B) People in the quality of asylum seekers,

c) people in refugee quality and

d) people who enjoy temporary and complementary protection

In addition to these basic criteria, households (two categories I and II) to benefit social assistance should not own more than 0.5 hectares of land, financial revenues and accounting material goods, as is defined by legal and underground acts regulating the Social Assistance scheme.

The Republic of Kosovo currently has about 431 laws in force, 34 laws are from the area of employment and social welfare, while of 1,986 sublegal acts, 139 are implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Management. /Indeskoniline/Periscope