Rest MPs hostage withdrawal of 10% of Trust contributions

The withdrawal of 10 per cent of pension contributions to the Trust by citizens depends on the adoption of legal changes in the Kosovo Assembly. MPs failed to pass the Economic Recovery Bill in August, and the same are currently on leave until 15 September.

While the pandemic COVID-19, in addition to public health, has caused major damage to the economy and employment in the country.

Senior adviser in Riinvest, Muhamet Mustafa, has told Kosovo Press that Kosovo's Assembly has shown inefficiency until responsibility for failing to approve the economic recovery programme.

He has said some components of the economic recovery programme could be implemented even after the approval of the budget revision except frozen means of privatisation and pension Trust tools.

It's very strange that the Parliament cannot create the forum to vote on this programme, and much worse goes to the annual holiday without making such a vote. One month until the Parliament meets and procedures are under way. You lost a month and a half, and this is completely meaningless. The Head of the Parliament must also think of this, but parliamentary groups and political parties in power as well as the opposition. It is surprising that even 20 deputies of the ruling parties have been missing when this bill had to be voted in. So it's time for the last one to get serious at work, the MPs to know that they're there to do things. They are paid business taxes, which are not making it possible for them to exploit key components of the economic recovery programme”, Mustafa says.

Economics experts have also spoken of estimated damages in the economy, which, according to him, the flow of businesses has dropped by 80 per cent. It also envisions a major economic downturn, which even the government has not yet seen. However, Mustafa shows sectors that have best performed in the pandemic.

“We have published a report showing there has been a very serious blow, in the first phase, in March 18th, the drop in sales to businesses has been 20 per cent to 80 per cent. Most have had a 50 per cent drop. There have been cases of 80 percent decline, while in other cases 20 percent. Only the milk and bread industry has had no decline because import was difficult. So local grain and flour products, as well as milk, have found a market, even having had an increase in sales only these two sectors... It's usually a heavy blow, I'm afraid it's the hardest blow the government thinks. The decline in economic growth or decline in GDP will be greater than the government plans. Then these are chain consequences in economic activities, employment, budget and all other”, he said.

Similar views of the Parliament's deputies' irresponsibilities for failing to approve the package for economic recovery are shared by university professor Mazum Barlay.

The recogniser of political issues has said that Kosovo is in a very serious situation and the Parliament's actions are unforgivable at this time of end.

As he says some 400,000 citizens are unemployed and MPs should not go on vacation.

There was no way to have a break because of the pandemic, since Kosovo is in the worst condition... and not managing this pandemic well, with no unity and no stable majority in the Assembly or government, especially in the Parliament. It had to be that even the Law on Economic Recovery costs importance because our businesses and economy are ahead of bankruptcy. And we're in heavy condition, the working class is over 400,000 unemployed. They have not yet received the first package, the emergency device, leaves those injections to survive this economic crisis caused by the pandemic. Therefore, it should not necessarily go on vacation, neither government nor parliament, so that this law can be addressed and approved”, Baraliu points out.

He also stressed that there should be no political differences in adopting these important laws, because according to Baraliu, the main and principal function of the assembly is the adoption of laws.

As for the economic recovery, the chairman of the Kosovo Chamber of Economics, Berat Rukiqii, has said that the community of businesses has enough reason to be concerned and disappointed with the inherent institutional approach to tackling the negative effects that are bringing pandemic to the country's economy every day.

Rukiqi is even considering measures to withdraw savings from the Trust and other measures for loan guarantees as very important. Rukiqi, however, says he fails to understand why MPs go on vacation until the economic recovery programme is approved.

There are two problems here, the parliamentary problem, which, although in time of pandemic, was called on that annual holiday, but I don't know why it should wait until September 15th for parliament to meet and discuss vital topics for the country in this case is the Law on Economic Recovery. We said it and we keep saying, the tools must be distributed quickly... Two measures are the most basic of the Law on Economic Regeneration, which is the Trust's tools that directly help with aggregate demand, and citizens are interested in attracting, and they attract as much as they have to, and they use it now when they need most. Another important measure is the guarantee for loans to business”, Rukiqi says.

He has also said that most measures which have been necessary to prevent the spread of pandemic have directly affected the private sector, but at the same time very few institutional measures have emerged in support of the private sector at the most difficult time.

Rukiqi has further said that for a period already nearly six months in the pandemic, neither 100m euros have been introduced into the economy, while in other countries injected hundreds of millions of euros to help companies survive and preserve jobs.

Even those tools, which are now finished in the emergency package, he says almost very few have gone to companies, most of those tools have gone to workers' salaries, which is good for rents. Even the head of OEK says that no Kosovo company has received direct support from the state.