Arben Vitita in war with Pristina's pandemic eyes

According to them, Vitia should not leave the ministry at the time when in Kosovo the numbers of those infected by COVID-19 are growing every day.

Mara Cet from Gjakova says she is satisfied with the work of Arben Viti as minister.

Chetta, 71-year-old, tells Radio Free Europe that he shouldn't give up on this job, which he describes as good.

He must be a minister because he has been so far. He has had the decision to minister of health, not to run for mayor. He must stay until the pandemic is done, then next time let him run. It seemed to me that she served well”, she says.

But Navzad Fushtica from Pristina and Mustaf Mustafa from Vushtrria do not appreciate the work of Minister Arben Vitita. According to them, Vitia has failed to protect citizens from COVID-19.

For me, zero. As much as the infection”, Fushtica says.

“He had to resign from the position of the minister of health at the moment he intended to join the Pristina chairmanial race. He had to resign”, Mustafa says.

FOL: Flee from responsibility

The minister's candidacy, Arben Vitita, for Pristina chairman, legally does not have any obstacle. It could retain the minister's position until the signing of the October 17th elections, and if it becomes head of the capital, then it should free the minister's position.

However, Medjide Demolli-Niman, director of the non-governmental organisation FOL, says minister Vitita should not leave the Ministry of Health, at a time when the numbers of infected are increasing.

This is really not ethical, especially at this time when the pandemic situation is not being managed properly and we have record increases in the number of infected, unfortunately the dead, the number is very high. This, in this case, seems to me like fleeing from responsibility as Health Minister”, she tells Radio Free Europe.

According to her, the government should take action and prioritize health.

“After the minister Vitita decided to hold this position I'm really curious to know how it will achieve an election campaign and also manage health, when it is known that these elections are fair and the pre-election campaign will last 30 days”, says Demolli-Niman.

Health Minister Arben Vitita said days ago that his entire focus “will be on the Ministry of Health until there is good results in relation to the pandemic”.

“You should remember that October 17th, of course, will not find me as minister of health, but by that time I will give my maximum, as I am now doing”, Minister Vitita told reporters on August 20th.

Free Europe Radio has tried to contact Minister Vitita, but the same has not responded to calls. He has not even commented on his candidacy at his party, the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV).

Kosovo government: Year focused on his role as minister

Through a written response sent Radios Free Europe, the Government of Kosovo has made clear the support for the minister's candidacy, Arben Vitita, for Pristina chairman.

It says that the vaccine is going towards fulfilling the vow that 60 percent of citizens will be vaccinated by the end of the year, and if this trend continues, the government expects that goal to be achieved earlier.

His candidacy for mayor is no distraction, and more so that the campaign starts only on September 17th, about a month later, and that the Ministry of Vitita is head of the LVV centre in Pristina, which means there is a wide structure and network of activists who will engage in his” campaign, it says in response.

It also says that the Government of Kosovo “has taken new measures against pandemic and has increased capacities to respond to citizens' interest in vaccinating”.

In the last seven days in Kosovo (including August 23rd), 57 patients from the Coronavirus have died and over 12,000 new cases have been recorded with COVID-19 .