The millions the government spends on rented private objects

These data include central government institutions that have been rented in Pristina, but not those in other municipalities or the local level of power.

The state institution that pays the highest rent price is the Kosovo Tax Administration of about 390 thousand euros a year, or about 32,000 euros a month, provided by the Ministry of Finance, Dogana and the Financial Intelligence Unit, respectively, which pay annual rent of 347 thousand euros. The amount of 175 thousand euros in annual rent is paid by the Independent Commission for Mining and Minerals, 115 thousand Kosovo Agencys for Comparison and Verification of Property, meanwhile 108 thousand euros for rent, paid the Ministry of Integration. There are 12 other institutions that pay less than 100,000 euros in annual rent.

Zecir Beckoll, head of the Public Communication Department at the Ministry of Public Administration, tells Radio Free Europe that the need is great for these institutions to be placed in government objects, as this would be a relief of their activities as well as, according to him, this process is also a priority of the Government of Kosovo.

At moments when the government provides official space, these institutions will certainly be carried to state objects. For this, the Government of Kosovo and the Ministry of Public Administration are priorities. For now, however, the situation is this”, Beckoli says.

On the other hand, experts on economic issues and civil society representatives, the sum paid for rent by the Government of Kosovo considers it unnecessary and budget burden.

According to them, setting up public objects in private spaces constitutes a corrupt practice and aims to provide benefits to certain interest groups.

Naim Gashi, an expert on economic issues, in a conversation for Radio Free Europe, considers the amount of around 1.7m euros is higher at the country level. The practice of renting items, Gashi calls it abuse of public money.

“Take into account all institutions in all of Kosovo that the government pays rent, the pay rate for rent is much higher. I think these tools should be automated in building public objects that should be used in public institutions. Practices in renting items, 12 years after declaring that independence that Kosovo and 20 years after the end of the war, is pure abuse with public money. For the fact that there has been enough time to build these” objects, Gashi said.

He also stressed that competent authority should have priority in building objects that will be used for public institutions.

“in Kosovo has been spent millions of euros on rent, and if these vehicles were used, similar items could be built several times. I think it should be national priority both at the local and central level that all public and state institutions should be placed in public (state) objects. And in cases when those objects don't exist, they have to be built and priority. I think that the continuation of renting of facilities has been made in order to benefit some people who are usually connected to persons who release leased”, Gashi said.

One of the institutions of the Government of Kosovo that is in the process of finding out a rented object is the Ministry of Innovation and Intervention. This ministry, currently according to Public Administration Ministry data, is paying 54 thousand euros in annual rent for a private facility, conducting legal procedures for exchange of the facility.

In a response to Radio Europe Free from officials of this ministry, the “contratrate for this facility ends on January 19th, 2020, so the call for expressions of interest for parties that can provide suitable targets for the ministry has been announced. The selection process is still in procedure and the object of where we will be placed as institution” is not selected.

This minister has also announced on its website the invitation for expression of interest, which says the potential object should have a space of up to 900 square metres, while priority has the facilities near the Kosovo Government building.

However, whether there will be a need for the new object is not known, as in the two parties' projections negotiating about forming the ruling coalition, Vetevendosje (LVV) Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), one of the goals is to take place by half the number of ministries, compared to the current government. The outgoing government had 21 ministries, meanwhile, the goals of Vetevendosje and LDK are for the Government to have only 12 ministries.