World Bank: Kosovo must reform social protection programmes

The analysis presented today in Pristina aims to support Kosovo for further development of its social protection system. She notes that the pandemic COVID-19 and the subsequent economic crisis have highlighted challenges that do not allow social protection programs to effectively protect the poor and vulnerable population and promote their stability in Kosovo.

Massimiliano Paolucci, World Bank Country Manager for Kosovo and Northern Macedonia, said a strong social protection system could play an important role in supporting job creation.

Kosovo will benefit from the growing youth population in the coming years, but to reap the benefits require investment in human capital by promoting employment and protecting the most vulnerable”, Paolucci said.

While Ambassador Tomash Szunyog, leader of the European Union Office in Kosovo, said the Government should reform the social protection system, as well as offer good living conditions.

“Kosova Kosova spends considerable amounts of money on social protection, regulations for the beneficiaries of various social protection schemes are not adequate and efficient, and create inequality. Therefore, it is time for the government to reform the social protection system and use it to eliminate poverty, increase employment, and provide good living conditions for all,” he said.

By contrast, the World Bank analysis values the extent to which the social protection system meets its goal. It outlines some of the main current challenges and proposes short-term, medium-term reforms.

The analysis concludes that spending for social assistance in Kosovo is oriented towards willing money transfers that have nothing to do with poverty, making the social protection system unbalanced, despite considerable budget.

The analysis also underscores that spending on social services is disproportionally low.

Kosovo also spends little on employment and labour market policies, while its pension system is highly fragmented, leading to large inequalities in the entire spectrum of non-contributing pensions.