Government has paid about half a million euros in pensions for dead persons

By law, the declaration of death should be made by a large family member with a medical report within 30 days of death.

But delays in the declaration have caused Kosovo's Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers, only last year, to pay nearly half a million euros for pensions on dead persons.

According to the National Auditor's Office report, released this month, this minister has paid 3,314 pensions after the benefits died, worth over 465 thousand euros.
Juris and representatives of nongovernmental organisations say that, to avoid delays in reporting deaths, it must digitise the registration system between health institutions and civil registration offices.

Health Ministry officials in Kosovo have not answered Radio Free Europe's question if they have any electronic systems, where they register dead persons in the hospital.

Digitalization Essential to the Health System
From the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo, meanwhile, they say if the person dies in one of the departments of this institution, QKUK meets several forms, which are also handed over to the Kosovo Statistics Agency.

The first page of the form attached to the patient's history, which remains in the appropriate clinic. The second page is for AKS and third page for the respective municipality. These two pages of form, after a period of time, the AKK takes them from the QKUK, and one of them is sent to the municipality, the other keeps it to itself”.

Meanwhile, the fourth page, after the patient dies, along with the death sheet and the leaflet [from the hospital] belongs to the family head”, clarify from the QKUK for REL, but without specifying whether they have any electronic systems that register the dead.

Free Europe Radio has contacted officials of the Drinas municipality, in the central part of Kosovo, who confirm there is no common database between health institutions and municipal offices.
Lumniye Praja, leader of the Civil State Service in this municipality, says the Main Centre of Family Medicine in Drenas does not electronicly monitor cases of death in the Communist Office for Civil Recording.

According to her, cases of deaths are recorded at the request of family members physically in the municipality and “in most cases late”.
Under the Civil Status Law, any deaths that take place on Kosovo territory must be recorded by family members in relevant municipalities within 30 days, while for those taking place outside the territory, the registration deadline is 60 days.

All deaths in health institutions but even at home must be confirmed by the competent physician, who issues the death certificate.

Then, the request to register the dead should be presented physically in municipal offices, along with the certificate issued by the health institution, which confirms the death of the person.

If there is no such certificate, the death record is made by two witnesses before the court who were present at the time of the person's death or at his funeral.

If death is not announced within the set term, family members may be fined between 50 and 100 euros.

Digitalisation Improves Process
Mentor Sefer, from the nongovernmental Civil Rights Programme in Kosovo, says the death registration process cannot remain in the will of family members, but that digitalisation of the registration system is needed.

“Electronic communication between health institutions is necessary for this process”, he stresses.

Justice Hasim Krasniqi, who earlier worked at the Civil Record Agency, says the problem in this regard represents natural deaths, which occur at home.

In most cases, natural deaths that occur at home are not confirmed by the doctor either. That's where it gets stuck. And it's a citizen practice that, without any documents needed, does not go to register the dead person”, Krasniqi says.

Dead Again on Election Lists
According to him, the Civil Registering Agency and municipalities must find “taskive platform” to register death timed, but does not specify what they might be.

By law, when death occurs at home, those present should call the doctor to confirm it. All cases of death must have a conclusion on who has been responsible for the death of the person released by the health institution.

After enrolling in relevant municipalities, the data is served by the Civil Recording Agency, which functions within the Interior Ministry.
Erdoon Arifaj, deputy director of the Civil State Department in this agency, explains about the REL how it works:

The death record is made by the civil state official inside the system. It's a unique system. They [the data] are collected in the central registry of nationals, the registry, which is administered by us. So, in all cases, when the citizen declares [the family's] death, we have the information and we distribute it to the relevant” institutions.

With this data every month, the Kosovo Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers is also served, which executes pension tools.

Kosovo's pension value ranges from 100 euros to age pensions to 264 euros, depending on educational qualifications.

Under the law, pensioners must appear in the Pensioners' Office every six months to testify that they are alive.

Ministry of Finance: Over 151 thousand euros have been returned to budget
Skender Aslan, deputy director of the Department of Pensions at the Ministry of Finance, says this institution operates on data from the Civil Recording Agency.

We have the chance that the side will die after the 15th [month], but we are obliged to carry the means [at the beginning of the month] and that sounds like the ministry is wrong. We, every month, get the data from the Civil Record Agency”, says Aslan.

The report of the National Audition Office reportedly says that <x0 person lags on payment lists cause unfair payments and undermines the ministry's” budget.
This office has recommended that the Ministry of Finance analyze in detail the payment issue and consider the possibilities for their return if sent to the dead beneficiaries.

The return of the means is voluntary by the family of the deceased pensioner who retired after the pensioner died. But, in cases when these vehicles do not return voluntarily, the” judicial procedure is initiated, they say about REL from the Finance Ministry's Information Office.

According to her, from the bad “payments to dead people last year, so far over 151 thousand euros have been returned to the budget.

The Ministry of Finance says mistakes have occurred because, since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic-19 in March 2020, the Government of Kosovo, with a decision, has released all categories of pensioners to appear every six months at pensioners' offices.

In addition to payments for dead persons, the Ministry of Finance has wrongly paid over 405 thousand euros in social assistance, pensions of Kosovo Liberation Army veterans and pensions of workers of the metallural plant “Trepca”, the National Auditing Office has found.