With the new Law, Future Government With Less Ministers

But such a large government for a country of less than two million people is not designed to be one in the future government's mandate, as this issue is expected to be adjusted to the Law on Government. Through this law, the executive in Kosovo is aiming to lower the number of ministries, but also the deputy ministers, respectively.

The head of the Commission for drafting the Bill, Besnik Tahiri, who is also the National Coordinator for State Reform, told Radio Free Europe that the Law for Government is the second most important law for state administration, following the adoption of the state reform package. According to him, this law regulates the functioning and responsibilities of ministries and deals with the aspect related to the number of resorts. To a large extent, he stresses, the law in question details the duties and responsibilities of each sector separately.

This law will not make sense unless sanctioned, no ceiling is laid for the number of ministries, meaning that this law, will necessarily reduce ministries, as will reduce deputy prime ministers and deputy ministers”, Tahiri said.

He believes the Law for Government will be passed on the necessary procedures in the Assembly in the coming weeks and as such adopted.

We have held six government commission meetings, where I am the leader. We have a draft of the law, and we also have three reports of civil society, of the three major institutions on this subject. Then we will have discussions with the opposition parliamentary parties, because this law is not just about this government, but it is about other incoming governments. On this basis, we are convinced that this law will be an extremely important law and in the function of the country's development agenda”, Tahiri said.

Even Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said that by this law, not only is the mechanical reduction in the number of elected ones becoming a step much forward. With the League for Government according to the chief executive, the responsibility of each is measured.

The Government Law is one of the five conditions of the Social Democrat Party for the adoption of the 2019 budget, where they sought to reduce the number of deputy ministers. Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group chief Dardan Sejdiu told Radio Free Europe that apart from the Law on State Administration, the Law on Salaries, we should have a law on Government.

In that form, according to Sejdiu, once and for all, opportunities must be closed to manipulate both by wages and by deputy ministers.

So to have a system in the country, which, regardless of who is prime minister cannot abuse or misuse the position to accommodate pre-election party markets. The Law for Government should determine the maximum number of ministers and that the number of deputy ministers for the ministry should not be more than two”, Sejdiu said.

But, opposition MP from the ranks of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Ismet Beqiri, told Radio Free Europe that this law did not originate in this government. According to him, the Law on Government, but also the Law on Salaries, has been prepared at the time of former Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's rule.

That's true, even the Law for Government has been attached to the calendar, or whether it's available to the House. Normally it hasn't been achieved. Now we as the Parliament, as MPs have not yet examined, even as the LDK is speaking. Normally, we can say freely, that some laws that are being adopted most are trying with responsibility and I say more are having political and electoral effect, above all”, Beqiri said.

MP Beqiri said the Law for Government should first affect the current Government.

If we say we're making a Law on Government as we've heard, I'm only talking as we've heard it because we haven't seen it yet, it's said to be worth the next government, and it also gives room to show that the current government coalition partners have filled the government with deputy ministers and other people who are part of government. While now they feel they are doing something for the future”, Beqiri said.

Dardan Sejdiu from the Social Democrat Party said the law comes into force when it is voted on by the Parliament.

Only if you're mentioned there by some article that comes into force after a certain time is it of interest for us to enter into force immediately to reduce this great government. I believe it's better to have law on one issue than to continue chaos in the state administration. For 18 years we have chaos in state organisation and I don't believe that the argument that by 31 votes can be written a new law is a valid argument not to make a good law today”, Sejdiu said.

Meanwhile, members of civil society, who have repeatedly criticised the large number of deputy ministers and political advisers, appreciate how to shoot the initiative to make the Law for Government, as the main purpose of the law is to limit the number of ministers, deputy ministers and advisers.

However, according to Isuf Zeynep from Democracy Plus, this initiative raises dilemmas about the need to have this law, because it is approved as a simple law with a simple majority in the Kosovo Assembly.

“Well the dilemmas are now that a law that is passed in a simple majority, then will it be able to resist these trends to make governments like this very large current of ministers and deputy ministers. Who can stop it? A law that is approved in a simple way is also changed in a simple way. So, as such, it does not present any competition that the future coalition will have an even greater number of ministers or ministries”, Zeynep said.

Zeynep shared the opinion with Democratic League of Kosovo deputy Ismet Beqiri, that the Law for Government should first begin to implement Haradinaj Government. But according to him, everything will depend on the Parliament and the working group.

The will is that, in the transitional provisions, they said this law was not worth this government mandate. But now if there is a possibility that when the bill is brought to the Assembly, it will be changed and the law will also impose this coalition and government mandated to make necessary reforms. Because in some form, it's also unfair. To approve a law, which affects only future offspring or government, but not the current mandate when the government, which is sponsoring this law, is leading with a number of ministers, especially deputy ministers”, Zeynep said.

Civil society representatives have estimated that these government positions cost Kosovo's state budget up to threem euros a year, as a deputy minister's monthly salary is about 1200 euros.

The 80 deputy ministers of the Haradinaj government will continue to receive 70% of the salary from the state budget even six months after the mandate ends.