Government predicts economic growth for 10 per cent, economists are pessimistic

Neither has the IMF seen a higher than 6 per cent increase.

Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli says the economic growth project of 7.9 percent on the part of the Ministry of Finance has increased further.

According to her, this is because much better results have been noted than expected in budget revenues, business circulation, export, import and consumption. So it adds that they expect economic growth this year to reach about 10 percent.

I'm happy to say that the economic growth projection of 7.9 percent on the part of the Ministry of Finance has grown further, now we expect economic growth to reach the projections always this year to reach 10 percent. This is the latest projection, projection can also change over time until the data is updated. The reason for this refresh is that in the months of the past year we've seen much better results than we've expected in exports, in imports, in imports, in the consumption of firms, in the budgetary revenues that have been recorded, means all the indicators we have so far show that economic recovery will be much faster than expected for this year”, Rizvanol for Kosova Pris says.

The executive director of the American Chamber of Economics, Arian Zeka, points out that the government's economic growth project can be achieved if economic activities and foreign investments are promoted.

In addition, Zeka says concrete action is required by the government, even for continued support for companies that have suffered during the Codov-19 pandemic.

Because it doesn't sound pessimistic, it's always real, it's always possible, but it still has to be seen in concrete actions, and one of these actions is the constant support for companies that have been hit over the past year, but not alone. At the same time, improving the offer for foreign investors. Finding the way and convincing investors from the diaspora to invest in our country as well as other foreign investors at the same time, and quite to the end because it is an important aspect of the country's economic development, is that even capital and infrastructure investment projects, since there are no new governments here. So if all these elements are combined, the increased economic activity of the internal sector, the promotion of external investments including investments from the diaspora and the continuation of public investment, then of course this government-represented growth rate is not something that can't be achieved”, Zeka points out.

Similarly, university professor Musa Limani says the government's and everyone's desire is to achieve a higher rate of economic development, but opportunities for realising that large rating do not exist.

“What the government has proposed of 7.9 per cent, I think cannot be realised given the actual state of Kosovo's economy. So in this regard, I would say that desire is something else, and opportunities are something else. The desire of all of us and the government is to achieve a higher growth rate, but opportunities for realising a large rating do not exist. They're defined. Very large investments are needed to achieve a high dynamic and growth rate, meaning billions... I recommend that the government be guided mainly in attracting foreign direct investments”, Musa says.

While other university professor Muhamet Sadiku says the country has such a large economic rate, an extraordinary commitment of the government is required in an economic way.

Sadiku adds that Kosovo is always ranked at the bottom of countries in Europe for economic development.

“are economic macroeconomic estimates that Kosovo must go to over 7-8 percent of economic growth, but that this is an extraordinary commitment to these processes... Poverty and unemployment are the biggest enemies of Kosovo's economic development. Kosovo needs the economic benefits to be distributed to all, even to those in poverty and unemployed”, he says.

On the other side of the IMF say the launch of the citizens' vaccination process in Kosovo against COVID-19 and the arrival of citizens living abroad can lead to economic growth of up to 6 percent within 2021.