Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI), branch of Transparency International in Kosova held a roundtable in which the “Transparency Index of Public Procurement for Kosovo’s Municipalities” was published. This report used the same methodology as that of 2014’s index, which was the first index measuring the transparency of municipalities in different pillars. The index covers all the municipalities, and is based on four (4) pillars and 17 different indicators.

Artan Canhasi from “KDI/TIK”, presented the findings of this report, and according to him the key finding was that there is a positive trend of increased transparency with regard to the publishing of public procurement documents by the municipalities. The research also shows that in general, there is a lack of a clear planning, consultation with citizens and publication costs of municipalities of Kosova. Websites of municipalities are not consistent on the information they provide to citizens with regard to the use of their tax costs.

Bekim Salihu from “GAP”, a panelist in this roundtable, stated that in addition to being a legal obligation for municipalities, the publication of quarterly analytical accounts, is also one of the best instruments to show transparency and accountability to citizens.

While, Hajrulla Ceku from “EC MA NDRYSHE”, cited three main misconceptions that occur in communal approach towards transparency in public procurement, including: Information officials who act as propagandists of municipalities’ mayors, rather than officials who should inform the public; Law on public access to documents obliges the institution to reply within seven (7) days, but does not prohibit the proactivity to publish data on the website, as well as the process of budget management who is considered to be a biased process.

Some of the main recommendations that KDI has addressed are to make an adequate planning by including citizens through public hearings, since this would lead to a better expenditure of public money by the municipalities. At the same time, the publication of the budget on the websites of municipalities, would provide citizens with the opportunity to become familiar with the expenditure reports. Furthermore, in addition to providing accountability, expenditure reports can also serve as a promotion instrument to the work of mayors of municipalities, an instrument which consequently ensures citizens’ votes for them.

Although this research shows an increase of transparency in tendering procedures and awarding contracts, the average remains below 50%, which is a statistic far from the level of transparency that should be the goal of every institution and society.

The full report and findings can be downloaded on the website of KDI www.kdi-kosova.org

 

This activity of KDI / TIK is realized within the project Transparency and accountability in public procurement, which is supported by the British Embassy in Pristina.