Prishtina, 21 February, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, was today the main speaker, together with the EU ambassador in Kosovo, Szunyog, at the annual conference “PAR-Progress in Kosovo 2023” organized by the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS).
In his speech to the audience, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized the importance of reform in the public administration, which he estimated is a prerequisite for the development of other sectors and added that the Republic of Kosovo has clearly defined its orientation and state policies towards membership in the European Union.
“In the context of the model that addresses these requests for reform, it has been vital for the Government to focus on the process as a whole being based on principles and values that we share with democratic states, i.e. meritocracy, transparency, accountability, efficiency and non-discrimination” , said Prime Minister Kurti.
Furthermore, he said that the Government has taken concrete steps related to the reform in public administration, which is focused on strategic planning and which includes the National Development Plan; approval of the Strategy for Public Administration Reform for the period 2022-2027; The strategy for e-government and that for cyber security, which also constitute the axis of a genuine planning of reforms, as well as the entry into force of the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector. Regarding the latter, the prime minister said that for the first time we have a unified salary system in the public sector and the drastic inequality in salary, which was in the past, is being eliminated.
The complete speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti:
Thank you Ms. Loxha-Stublla, Executive Director of the Group for Legal and Political Studies,
The honorable Mr. Szunyog, Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo,
The honorable Mr. Dobra, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
The honorable Mr. Vagi, Senior Policy Advisor and Manager for Kosovo at SIGMA,
Dear leaders of the institutions, the National Audit Office and the Anti-Corruption Agency, Mrs. Vlora Spanca and Mr. Yll Buleshkaj,
Dear Ambassador Excellency,
Ambassador of the Republic of France in Kosovo, Mr. Olivier Guérot,
And also, honorable MPs, leaders of the two parliamentary groups, Mrs. Mimoza Kusari-Lila and Mr. Besnik Tahiri,
Dear participants,
Ladies and gentleman,
Today, the fact that an efficient public administration is an essential prerequisite for the development of other sectors is no longer a novelty. The fact that public administration reform is one of the key objectives in our Government’s program is not a novelty either.
In the connection between the state, citizens and the private sector, the role of public administration is brought to life. Also, there is a need for the interaction between these actors to be principled.
The Republic of Kosovo has clearly defined its orientation and state policies towards membership in the European Union. We have undertaken the burden of reforming vital sectors, including the reform of public administration.
The factors and causes that have influenced the need for a fundamental reform in public administration have varied over the years. However, they have constantly stressed the urgency for the administration to respond to the development of the times and the social context in the country. That our public administration has the necessary capacities to carry out the intended processes of integration into the European Union, as well as to provide services both on time and with quality.
In the context of the model that addresses these demands for reform, it has been vital for the Government to focus on the process as a whole being based on principles and values that we share with democratic states. So meritocracy, transparency, accountability, efficiency and non-discrimination.
Through the establishment of these principles in the public administration, the aim is to guarantee quality, equal treatment, and quality provision of services and professionalism of resources within public institutions.
Only an approach based entirely on these principles can address the challenges identified in the past in both local and international reports.
These reports emphasized that:
• We have politicization in recruitment processes and lack of meritocracy;
• Then in Kosovo we had a lack of professionalism, including the lack of professional development and qualitative training;
• That there is a lack of accountability and also
• Lack of adequate performance measurement.
In the past years, local and international reports have found these four findings which we must address both fully and urgently.
Undoubtedly, with these phenomena and absences that have accompanied our administration over the years, the trust of citizens towards public institutions and especially towards recruitment processes, has faded. This then, in the chain effect, has caused inefficiency, stagnation in the provision of services, in quality and in the reform and development of other sectors that are also important for society.
This has been the impetus for the Government to show its full political will to address the challenges, through concrete actions towards reforming the public administration in our country.
Initially, the reform process is focused on strategic planning, which includes the National Development Plan; approval of the Strategy for Public Administration Reform for the period 2022-2027; The strategy for e-government and that for cyber security, which also constitute the axis of a genuine planning of reforms.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has led the essential legislative reform in the field of public administration. An ambitious reform aimed at correct legal regulation of the challenges that our administration has faced.
With the entry into force of the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector at the beginning of this month, in the Republic of Kosovo, for the first time we have a unified salary system in the public sector and the drastic inequality in salary, which was in the past, is being eliminated. In accordance with the government program, the difference between the highest and the lowest salary, from 20 times what it used to be, has now been reduced to only 4.78 times. So, from 1 to 20, it is even better than 1 to 5. We have an increase in the salary budget of 105 million euros. The spirit of justice is being ensured and its concrete realization in the salary hierarchy, starting from the head of state with 1890 euros as the highest salary and the lowest, which is 395 euros.
In December last year, the Assembly of the Republic approved the Law on Public Officials, which aims to reform human resources within the public administration and provide solutions for public institutions towards a better performance. This law has been challenged by the opposition in the Constitutional Court and we await the final decision of the court. However, the bodies in charge of the legislative reform have taken care to respect the constitutional guarantees and principles in the matters regulated by this law.
These two laws aim at the professionalization of public administration through the promotion of meritocracy, the creation of opportunities for the attraction and retention of professional capacities in our institutional system, the fair reward of contribution to the state, the return of brains from the diaspora, the creation of opportunities for advancement for officials within administration and interaction with the private sector. Their implementation will result in an increase in the performance of the public administration, in an increase in the efficiency and quality of the services that citizens and businesses rightly expect to receive.
Dear participants,
I believe that it is evident that the Republic of Kosovo has made progress in the field of digitization in the public administration. A large number of public services have been digitized and the state platform e-Kosova currently has over 761 thousand registered users. So, approximately as many as two members in a family or double the number of families we have in Kosovo.
310 million visits made on this platform and receiving services only in the “family” and “civil status” category 707,000 times, represent the flow of physical appearance at counters that has been avoided through technology, saving time for the party and for the institution, as well as increasing efficiency in receiving services from citizens. Digitization of public services and administrative procedures is also a priority within the reform and specific actions will be intensified throughout this year.
On this occasion, I express my thanks to all local and international partners who have supported us in the difficult journey of public administration reform.
There is a study of the European Initiative for Stability – ESI, probably more than a decade ago, which made the connection between the efficiency of public administration and the speed of European integration. And it turns out that there is no other more important connection for the speed of European integration for the countries of our continent than the one with the efficiency of public administration. In fact, this surpasses both economic growth and the rule of law, that’s why we take it with such priority. I don’t remember if the European Stability Initiative had the courage to establish causality between public administration and European integration or if they were modest and only found correlation, but the connection is very, very evident.
This radical reform started will bring efficiency, transparency and accountability, in order to address the demands and expectations that citizens have towards the institutions. We are fully committed to our role and obligations towards the fulfillment of these goals.
Thank you!
Last modified: February 21, 2023