Our state will be in a collapse, 11 Kosovo municipalities still without a budget approved for next year

In an interview for Online Economy, Ibrahimi said that in view of the challenges they will face, they have made a request to the Ministry of Finance.

Kosovo's “communities from the legal aspect had to pass their municipal budgets by September 30th, but 11 municipalities have failed to pass municipal bills in their respective municipalities within that time period. But on the other hand, they can approve their municipal budgets until the Kosovo Parliament session is held where the Kosovo budget will be discussed and approved. As an association we have seen these challenges, therefore we have addressed the Ministry of Finance with a request to enable municipalities to approve their municipal budgets after municipal elections, because it occurred in September to have the pre-election campaign, and at the end of September, it had to have the municipality pass their municipal budgets”, Ibrahimi has declared.

However, Ibrahan says that there was no answer from the central level.

Taking into account that all mayors, the absolute majority of former municipal assembly members, former municipal directors have been in electoral campaigns, then the priority has not declined to approve the municipal budget. On the other hand, considering that electoral institutions are still not functional, then municipalities have the opportunity to approve their municipal budgets with new municipalities released after the recent local elections, but will fall into the disrepute of the Kosovo Parliament, whenever it holds the session for the budget of the Republic of Kosovo. In view of the municipal budgets that are adopted late, we have seen these difficulties, but the central level has not seen it turn a response or, given the demands of central-level municipalities. Now, if the political situation at the country level is what it is, it means without functioning the central level, Kosovo's budget in this situation does not know how it will be approved. When Kosovo's budget is approved, normally the municipal budget is approved. We are hoping that as soon as possible the central-level institutions will be functional so that Kosovo's municipalities will not remain budget-free too, he added.

Ibrahim has warned that in the absence of budgets, the country may face financial collapses.

“We like the Association, whenever we have the opportunity during law administrations, we will demand that if the situation is the same as this year, then the municipalities will be allowed after the last local elections to approve their municipal budgets, so that the elected mayors after the last local elections and the members of the municipal assembly discuss, debate and adopt the municipality budget and with that budget work next year. This is better than what happened this year, so that in September we can have campaigning, but also legal deadlines for the adoption of municipal budgets. If we don't have a Kosovo budget, then normal ones that won't have investments; if legal deadlines are not approved, all civil service at the country level will be left without salaries, pensioners without pensions, social cases without social support. Based on legislation in effect, unless they adhere to the legal deadlines stipulated by the Public Finance Law, then our state will be in a complete financial collapse”, he stressed.