Prishtina, 28 July 2008
During his introductory remarks, Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi positively assessed the work and the engagement of the Government’s Cabinet with regards to the tasks deriving from the Donors’ Conference on Kosovo. Prime Minister Thaçi said that this momentum will be kept also when it comes to the implementation of all the projects financed by the donations pledged in this conference.
In this respect, the Prime Minister asked for close cooperation also with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund when it comes to the implementation of the donations.
This process, stressed Prime Minister Thaçi, will be open, transparent and accountable.
Briefing the ministers on the historical visit of the Kosovar delegation to the United States of America, Prime Minister Thaçi said that the during the visit and the meetings the delegation had in Washington they received strong support for Kosovo and these meetings mark the peak of relations between Kosovo and the United States of America.
Prime Minister Thaçi also took into account the reactions and the demonstration by the people of Mitrovica against placing of a contingent loaded with toxic material in the industrial complex “Trepça” in Mitrovica.
The Prime Minister called on the people to show understanding and also asked the Government to overcome this situation. The Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, also underlined that the situation created is also a result of negligence by the officials in charge in the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning and at the Kosovo Customs and therefore called on the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning and the Minister of Economy and Finance to take immediate measures against the officials who were in charge and allowed this to happen. “The Government of Kosovo will not tolerate mismanagement and negligence,” said Prime Minister Thaçi.
Talking about the reports coming from the Auditor General Office on the use of budget by the budgetary agencies, Prime Minister Thaçi said that these reports will not remain useless papers. The findings and conclusions of these reports will be proceeded further to other judicial bodies for investigation. The Prime Minister called on the ministers to carry out budget expenditures in accordance with the law.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance presented in today’s meeting a summarized report of expenditures by the Government of Kosovo for official dinners, food and drinks, fuel and other expenditures for official trips. The report covers a six-month period from 1 January – 30 June of 2008. The report found that the expenditures at the central level in the Government of Kosovo are for 28 % lower than the expenditures of the same period last year.
Addressing the need to review the tax system and to improve the tax system in Kosovo, the Government of Kosovo decided in today’s meeting to approve an initiative by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to change the tax system of the Republic of Kosovo. This change will crate a more attractive environment for the foreign investments and for the development of the businesses in Kosovo. These amendments will also reflect the regional picture in terms of competition with regards to policies aiming at reducing taxes, and Kosovo cannot ignore this fact.
The Ministry of Justice proposed to the Government of Kosovo to include in the Legislative Strategy for 2008 the drafting and approving of the Draft Law on Amnesty. The draft law will determine the procedures which will enable the President of the Republic of Kosovo to individually grant amnesty in certain cases for certain categories of criminal perpetrators. The Constitution of Kosovo guarantees this right for the President, therefore the Government approved the proposal by the Ministry of Justice to draft and approve this draft law during this year.
The Government also discussed and approved the Administrative Direction on preparing other draft laws and subsidiary acts. This direction will unify all the practices and procedures with regards to drafting legal drafts/acts in Kosovo. It will instruct and support the drafters of the draft laws and subsidiary acts during the process of drafting, discussing and approving of the legislation. It is expected that this Administrative Direction will increase the efficiency and the performance of the legal departments in the Government of Kosovo.
In today’s meeting, the Government also discussed and approved another Administrative Direction on the promotion of effective use of energy and energetic services by the consumers. This Administrative Direction will encourage the improvement of the cost-effective and efficient use of energy, and also saving of it by the ultimate consumers. The direction will be implemented by the providers of energy services through measures aiming at improving the effective use of energy, by energy distributors, distribution system operators and by wholesale energy companies. The small distributors will be excluded by this rule, along the small operators of the distribution companies and retail energy companies.