Both appointments were made on the same day and both were described as coming into force on December 9, 2025. Although these are directorates with separate powers, Maliqi simultaneously exercised managerial functions in both. Lawyer Anton Nrecaj says this situation constitutes a conflict of interest.
Ilirjana Thaqi
Suspicions of conflict of interest have been raised for the chief of staff of the mayor of Pristina, Përparim Rama, who, in communications published by a whistleblower, is alleged to have illegally legalized construction objects for the purpose of benefiting himself and others. On December 9, 2025, Florent Maliqi was appointed director of the Directorate of Urbanism and Environment, while also acting director of the Cadastre Directorate.
Both appointments were made on the same day and both were described as coming into force on December 9, 2025. Although these are directorates with separate powers, Maliqi simultaneously exercised managerial functions in both. Lawyer Anton Nrecaj says this situation constitutes a conflict of interest.
"The moment the same person initiates a legal procedure, whatever it may be, and then the same procedure is transferred to another division, while that same person, in the capacity of acting, makes a decision on the same issue, then of course we are dealing with a conflict of interest," said Nrecaj.
Maliqi was director of the Directorate of Urbanism and Environment for about five months, while he held the position of acting director of the Cadastre for about two and a half months.
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His name was also mentioned in the reaction of the Municipality of Pristina, published on social networks, after a criminal report was submitted to the Special Prosecution Office, based on communications sent by a whistleblower.
The report mentions allegations of illegal legalization of several facilities, belonging to at least five companies. For a week, representatives of the companies have not responded to KOHA's questions regarding these allegations.
Without referring to the allegations highlighted in the whistleblower complaint, lawyer Nrecaj says that by simultaneously exercising his duties in two directorates, he can be abused.
"This constitutes abuse of official position, but at the same time it is also an indication that should be directed to the investigative bodies, which, ex officio, should initiate the relevant procedures, as there may be suspicion of abuse and misuse of both public money and official duty," said Nrecaj.
The Law on the Treatment of Illegal Constructions, namely in Article 8, stipulates that the Legalization Database is public and that the public has access to it through the websites and offices of the competent authorities.
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However, the website of the Municipality of Pristina currently only publishes general data on the number of legalizations, while detailed data is not published as in previous years.
Regarding the lack of this data, KOHA sent questions to 20 officials from the legalization sector, but did not receive a response.
Regarding the safety of buildings, construction expert Driton Tafallari emphasizes that legalization is only an administrative procedure and does not guarantee compliance with technical and safety standards.
"The legalization process cannot ensure whether a building is technically stable even if it meets the technical criteria. However, this is because it is a very complicated process because after the construction of a building is completed, it is very difficult to verify the internal structure of that building. Therefore, the legalization of unauthorized construction does not deal with the technical composition of the building, but rather is an administrative process that requires a number of criteria to be met in order to legalize it," Tafallari declared.
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Legalization is a legal procedure that allows unauthorized constructions to gain legal status and be registered in the Cadastre, if they meet the criteria set by law.
According to data from the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, there were around 352 unauthorized constructions in Kosovo in 2022. Of these, around 46 were in the Municipality of Pristina, while over 75 percent of existing constructions in the country were unauthorized.
