Security Secret Fund, government without transparency for collected tools

Field acquaintances say government “should not be ashamed of the small amount collected at the Fund” and that citizens should know the outcome of their donations.

The Kosovo Alliance of Business says the Security Fund is seen as an opportunity to attract foreign investors.

Former Kosovo Security Force Commander Kadri Kastrati says the government's transparency around the Security Fund is meaningless, taking into account that fund creation has good intentions.

The Security Fund, established for more than a year by the Government, has envisioned the collected financial means to be used for the state security strategy.

I have some information that I don't know how accurate they are, but somewhere around 157 thousand euros have been collected and those are not some kind of amount that plays any role in security or protection, and perhaps for that reason the prime minister and the Ministry of Defence are getting fried so they don't give it to the public, but there's nothing shameful about being said transparently. We have a good goal, we have in order that this fund will increase military capacities, accelerate the fulfillment of the Kosovo Army's al-operational capacities, but citizens have not responded to the extent we thought, and here we are”, Kastrati told RTV21.

The Finance Ministry had declared that the means collected in the Security Fund account are transparent and available to state authorities who have access rights, while being spent only on the purpose for which this fund was established. But, former Deputy Regional Development Minister Magbule Shkodra considers the government “should not be ashamed of the sum collected.

There has been a statement from the Government because this must be classified information that I disagree with at all because there are public money, however, donations being given and these must be transparent. This is also regulated with the Kosovo Constitution. There is no secret need to make a fund and be so enigmatic and arouse unnecessary curiosity among our enemies. We in co-ordination with our allies who have helped us so far need to be transparent with the citizens to know exactly how much money has been collected. The government should not be ashamed if it has failed to collect the necessary amounts as it has thought. But just to be transparent and everything will be better”, Shkodra said.

Nevertheless, the Kosovo Alliance of Business says the security fund would have to create conditions and priorities for local and foreign investors. Agim Sahin from this alliance estimates that the fund should not be led by politics.

“Fund for security, which tries to give investors more security, whether local or foreign, is a fund that is thought to create more advantages for foreign or local investors, but still, transparency remains the main problem. The accountability and leadership of this fund, which should be professional, non-political and committed to promoting foreign investment”, he said.

The Kosovo government founded the Security Fund in March last year, where different citizens and donors can contribute through a bank accounts, within the finance ministry.