Halfing the number of ministries affects the best functioning of government

So said in the debate organised by the Group for Jury and Political Studies, where the topic of discussion was “halve the number of ministries through a government law: a debate on constitutionality and political readiness”.

The Government Law was seen as necessary to prevent the abuse done with the number of ministries, deputy ministers, and other advisers.

National Co-ordinator for Reform Besnik Tahiri has introduced the draft government bill, where he said 15 ministries are, according to him, sufficient for a normal functioning of the Government.

He said this law is necessary to determine the number of ministries and other Government members

I, as coordinator, think that setting the ceiling needs the number and I think that based on what I've studied with no major problem 15 ministries are enough for government functioning. I can say with full responsibility that in the assessment and analysis that we have done, in internal and external consultations, Kosovo can function very well with 15 ministries, and in each ministry there are two deputy ministers with portfolios, deputy ministers who have not only political positions but have duties”, he said.

Tahiri said that in this bill a member of the government's mandate could be completed when he refuses 6 consecutive calls of the Parliamentary Council or a parliamentary commission responsible for the relevant dictatorship to be heard.

The size of political cabinets of members of the Government is also envisioned by law, where the prime minister can appoint up to 10 political advisers. While deputy prime ministers can appoint as many as 5 political advisers as ministers can.

For this law to be adopted, Tahiri said he has full support of the ruling coalition partners.

I have the full support of the prime minister, I have had it in the package of state reforms, I have this law, and I have free hands to introduce something that is good for Kosovo and something that is preconsumable with people who may know this subject better than I am. I also have to say that I have the support of leaders who are in the coalition, starting with the top parliament. With full responsibility, I talked when I took this job even with the Prime Minister and with Limaj, I talked to everyone, there's no one who came to tell me not to do it or look at it's my position, everyone's always been okay. Also, I tell you with full responsibility that I have spoken with opposition parties, and if I have a call for the Kosovo Assembly, it will be that before we send it to Government, and I will do my part, we will consult with parliamentary parties, come and give comments to have a unified draft”, he said.

Half the number of ministries, according to Professor Wisar Morina, would influence the executive to be more efficient.

The logic of such a initiative is saving public money, rationalising decision-making, avoiding duplication in the sense of institutions at the central level, and there are two important elements why I strongly support such an initiative. The first is the executive's operation, I think an executive with less ministry is much more efficient, is able to ensure a much faster decision-making and is able to respond to citizens' demands at a much more reasonable time, in relation to a Government that runs with over 20 ministries. The second, we are parliamentary democracy, the executive legitimised by Parliament and supervised by Parliament, is much easier for Parliament as a legislature to exercise a much more efficient audit in relation to an executive that is more compact, which is more rationing al in relation to a Government that numbers in its ranks 20 and 115x1>, he said.

As to constitutional issues whether there are obstacles to this law being adopted, Morina said she sees no aspects that conflict with the country's Constitution. He said he sees no constitutional problems disrupting the spirit or principle of separation of powers.

But, contrary, Professor Robert Muharrem suggests, under which the draft government law could be finalised the same as the draft law on the responsibilities and components of the Republic of Kosovo State Delegation in the Dialogue Process with Serbia.

He said the Constitution does not grant the Constitution competency decision to legally regulate the number of members of the government.

It gives us the main parameters that apply to the Government Law. Is the definition of the number of ministries from the Kosovo Assembly violating the Assembly or violating the government's competence. I'm taking it as if the Constitutional Court is a textal approach to interpretation... if we take Article 65 of the Parliament's competencies and the Constitutional Court is summoned to the competencies of the Parliament, no provision of Article 65 gives the Kosovo Assembly competence to the Government to assign the number of ministries. The constitution says the Assembly oversees the work of government, but does not organise it. If we go to Article 95 paragraph 2, it has to do with the appointment of the Government, there is no number as many as the minister to be ... The fact is that the Constitution does not give the constitution competence that by law regulates the number of members of the Government”, he said.

For these reasons, Muharrem said that even National Reform Co-ordinator Bensik Tahiri has proposed that the Constitution be changed and not try to regulate this issue through the law, which could be declared unconstitutional.

Of the importance of this law being adopted has been spoken honourable by the Group for Jury and Political Studies, which said the dimensions regulating the law are worth not only constitutional fundamentals, but are of great value even in terms of the responsibility and political accountability of a Government.

According to him, the superdisposition of the Government is a need of the current context, a need to prevent the abuse that is taking place today.

“If Kosovo had another context from what it has today, the law on Government would be unnecessary because there would be no prime minister, no coalition that would take over without making a scandal like this today, so that a Government would have 21 ministries, 5 deputy prime minister of an unmatched number of deputy ministers. But it is that political responsibility, political morality, voter sanctions against the ruling parties, broad clientelemism makes control of government abuse impossible. The way the government today is structured and governments past are structured is extremely abusive, we have made Government to settle any interest of any member of a ruling coalition”, he said.

Korenica said Kosovo currently has ministries which in a normal state should not exist, but there is no logic in understanding of the competencies for them to exist separate. One, according to him, is the Ministry of Innovation and Intervention.