Gastronoms: New measures created money export, import of the virus

It's been a week since the gastronomy sector is standing closed because of new anti measures. CO VID undertaken by the country's government, but by the Kosovo Gastronomous Association, say these measures are only deepening the sector's serious situation even more.

In order to reduce positive cases with COVID-19, last week the Government has taken new restrictive measures by preventing the work of gastronomy and shopping centres by March 18th, but that this closure has affected over 29,000 Kosovo citizens to spend the weekend in Albania. This for Aryan Vranica from the Kosovo Gastronom Association is evidence that recent measures have influenced money exports and imports of the virus.

Vranica says the government's decision to close gastronomia in Kosovo by leaving borders open is a decision that harms gastronomies at most.

“Knowing there was no type of document required or type The PCR or some kind of vetoation and a kind of control in the struggle of pandemic, of course, has been disturbing to us because a sector that is closing in on us is being allowed in the other country, so this is stimulating citizens of the Republic of Kosovo to frequent more countries than our country. For us, it has been disturbing because knowing even the budgetary capacities of the Republic of Kosovo are not enough to support businesses in relation to the losses that have caused them. Of course we have to avoid these losses as much as possible, but with this decision we have created an export of money and an import of the”, he said.

According to him, the Government's decision that the gastronomy will work only with service “takes away” and the “Randwork by order”, only deepens the serious state of this sector.

He says that most gastronomial establishments do not offer these services, which says that their loss is even greater.

These measures deepen even more the serious state of the gastronomy sector, because gastronomy we know that from the total closure that occurred in the second month of the second year last year, there has been an extraordinary escalation in terms of damage caused by the pandemic and government austerity measures, respectively. We've had 64 per cent turndown and which has shown that it has the lead in relation to any other industry in terms of damages”, he says.

A year ago due to closure in the gastronomy sector, Vranica says more than 11 thousand workers have lost their jobs, which adds that it will also happen because of recent measures.

The “of course, yes, as I mentioned earlier, the burden on all of this liquidity costs has always been dropped on the owners and they couldn't have been sufficiently subsidized with money from our budget and had to leave work, even because of not allowing regular business functioning... so there's only one escape of the workers even with the precautionary measures of now, of course, there will be an even greater volume, which, as mentioned earlier, numbers are quite disturbing in terms of the dismissed workers. Achieving normality is only increasing and becoming more difficult, given the contraction of reserves and the huge losses that are being caused, he said.

The representative of the Kosovo Gastronomous Association says the gastronomy sector should be backed by the country's Government as soon as possible. He made it known that last week they had a meeting with government representatives, with whom he says they discussed gastronomers should be supported.

While we remember that the Kosovo Government has become aware that the gastronomy sector will be supported on pay salaries of workers and rents.

“We have discussed that there should be faster financial support, even though it is late, because there would have to be a meeting with the Ministry of Finance weighing the state of businesses and counting those businesses that would have to benefit in the event of concrete closures as it is happening now, and then both decisions take place in parallel after an application of businesses for subsidies to rent and salaries. This is expected to happen at the end of this month or early next month, of course it is expected to become a more accurate assessment in terms of the number of workers and businesses”, he said.

The restrictive measures will be valid until March 18th, which Vranica states if there is an attempt to extend the closure, they will protest.

“I have analysed these closing decisions and the decision of the Kosovo Gastronomous Association Steering Council has been that if there is no opening, of course we will protest. We will protest with disobedience and with road protest organisation, where we are not alone, means Oda and other support associations in this activity”, he says.

On April 7th, new restrictive measures have entered into force, where gastronomy and shopping centres have been banned by April 18th. / KP