On November 6, the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) held a Policy Discussion on the topic: “Structuring the Unstructured: A view on the draft-law on Government”, held in Prishtina. The aim of this event was to discuss the current government structure including the ever increasing number of new offices and positions. In particular, the discussion reflected on the latest version of the draft law on government and the necessity to have such a legislative framework in place. At the beginning of the discussion, GLPS presented some of the key findings and recommendations from the recent policy analysis entitled: “Structuring the Unstructured: How to reform the government structure to comply with principles of efficiency and accountability”. The author of the paper, Ms. Rexha stated that the current government structure is the largest in the Western Balkans region and the largest one in Kosovo’s governing history. “This governing structure is the largest Kosovo has ever had, with 21 ministries, approximately 80 deputy ministers and 5 deputy prime ministers, which represents currently the largest governmental structure in the Western Balkans”, she stated. In addition, she emphasized the need to accelerate the procedure in approving the draft-law on Government, which is crucial towards regulating this aspect, in specific to the role it would provide to the Assembly of Kosovo as well, and consequently avoid the possibility for the Prime Minister to be the sole party in deciding for the government structure. The importance of having a Law on Government was also emphasized by the Minister of Public Administration in Kosovo, Mr. Yagcilar. “The government structure and the number of ministries should be regulated by a Law on Government. We are currently committed in the process of public administration reform, in specific to the three important laws which include the Law on Salaries, the Law on State Administration and the Law on Civil Servants. All three laws mentioned above should be in full compact with the Law on Government, in order to produce proper results”, he concluded. On the other hand, Mr. Tahiri, the National Coordinator for State Reforms at the Office of the Prime Minister, said that the number of ministers and deputy ministers should be regulated by the Law on Government and what is more important, we should concentrate in how to optimize our public administration, avoid overlapping and ensure proper coordination, rather than in analyzing on how cost-effective the government would be if downsized. In addition, Mr. Hasani, the Chairperson of the Committee for Public Services, Local Administration and Media at the Assembly of Kosovo, said that it is concerning the high number of the existing independent agencies and a Law on Government would enable the Assembly to have a role during the establishment of a government structure. On another note, Mr. Ejupi, the Executive Director of INDEP said that a Law on Government is a very high importance and should be concluded as soon as possible, in order to avoid regulations that are regularly amended as for the needs of different political parties that are in power at a given timeframe.  In addition, he said that the high number of Political Advisors remains very concerning, and a Law on Government should clearly define the role and responsibilities of each position and should be aligned with the law package on public administration that is currently under a process of finalization. The panelists also had the chance to reflect on the need to have more efficient public spending, more effective and efficient institutional coordination, and enhanced accountability in the public administration. Finally, the political willingness and the timeframe needed to adopt such a law were also addressed during the event.

Panelists:

Mr. Mahir Yagcilar – Minister, Ministry of Public Administration;

Mr. Besnik Tahiri-  National Coordinator for State Reforms, Office of the Prime Minister;

Mr. Nait Hasani- Head of the Committee for Public Services, Local Administration and Media;

Mr. Burim Ejupi – Executive Director, INDEP;

Ms. Albana Rexha – Author of the Report and Senior Research Fellow, GLPS.

Venue: Orion Conference Centre (Str. Rexhep Luci, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)