New wave price hikes warned in Kosovo

The effects of war in the Middle East are also felt in Kosovo.

The price hikes are affecting different sectors, including oil derivatives, interrun transport tickets, and food items as well.

The chairman of the Consumer Association, Selatina Kacanik, stresses that prices will continue to rise, until it adds that the government must take concrete action to protect citizens and stabilise the market.

Kachanic claims that Kosovo faces overcrowding of oil derivative pumps and that the government has little chance of preventing price hikes.

The state currently has very little opportunity to do, to prevent price hikes. Since previous legislatures we have overcrowding of derivative pumps. Of the 250 needs the Republic of Kosovo, we have about 800. We have a problem with pump control and quality control. We also have intergovernmental and inter-consuming problems, because no government legislature has yet to recognize or recognize a consumer citizen, who is also a taxpayers of all of this. We finance the state, we finance parliament, we finance the government, we finance the ministries, we fund the market control mechanisms. It's common market. If we had the market, the market would act as price and supply regulators. With the fact that we haven't consolidated the market yet, the lack of a unified market and chaotic price action and all those who participate in this trade”, he said.

Kachanic says the Competition Authority must act and identify all persons who are undermining good market access culture.

It is true that raising the emergency prices in particular causes domino effect and, as you said, promotes the expensiveness of other articles. For one thing, transportation prices. Not all carriers have warned price hikes. But those who have warned price hikes are seen to be at odds with the Law on Free Competition. And I hope the Competition Authority will act and identify all those who are ruining the good culture of access to the market”, he said.

The Kachanic also mentioned sectors that will experience price hikes.

The “Price raising will have. So, we start with raising the prices of urban and interurban transport. Price hikes will be in agriculture. Price hikes will be in local productivity, in the production of basic food items such as bread and others. And we will be happy if we end up only with price hikes, because the lack of derivatives is being observed in Germany and very soon it can happen to us here in Kosovo”, he stressed.

While asked whether the number of inspectors for monitoring the situation on the ground should be increased, Kacanik said Kosovo needed voluntary law inspectors.

Look, this is a phrase, you piece of shit. We don't need additional inspectors. We need careful, voluntary inspectors who, with their fines, influence the education of businessmen and businesses. Not just for the eye of the page, just to meet a standard in letters and numbers. I mean, if the inspector is willing to conform to the law, he educates the abuser to stop abusing you. If an inspector returns to a convict several times, that means that interest” is in conflict, he points away.

Kachanic, underlines that starting from the war in Kosovo, the state must take actions for savings and that it should recognise the consumer citizen.

In times of crisis, at this moment when Kosovo is surrounded by wars, when it is not far away when we had it COVID, I believe 27 years ago, yesterday we had our 27th anniversary, we were at war. We should already be conscious, educated for savings. To avoid being surprised like Germany, we must now be educated, taught to save. With us as consumer citizens, the State must be taught to save. And then, from this stage, at least this government, unlike previous legislatures, should begin to recognise the consumer citizen, the taxpayers, because nothing can do without us and we can't do anything without it”, Kachanic added. /EO/