Bekim Salihu from the GAP Institute has assessed the return of several ministries to the "Kurti 3" Government as beneficial, saying that their reduction in the previous mandate did not produce the expected results and was more of a populist decision.
According to him, the increase in the number of ministries came after the current leadership concluded that the restructuring of the "Kurti 2" Government was not functional.
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Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support Contribute"The increase in ministries has come as a result of the current leadership concluding that the reconstruction of the Kurti 2 Government has not been useful and has not yielded the expected results. Consequently, it has been deemed appropriate that those ministries that have been merged be re-functionalized," Salihu said on KTV's "Interaktiv".
He cited as an example the fact that Minister Xhelal Sveçla had simultaneously held the positions of Minister of Interior and Minister of Public Administration, but according to him, administration issues did not receive due attention.
According to Salihu, the previous structure had created chaotic situations and duplicate functions within the merged ministries.
"The merged ministries have produced duplicate functions. The Information Office, instead of having two, has had four; the Procurement Office, instead of four, has had eight. This has created internal uncertainty and dissatisfaction," he said.
He emphasized that Kosovo had the highest number of ministries, 21, during the government of Ramush Haradinaj, while currently the number is 19 - up from 15 in the previous mandate.
Salihu also criticized the justification for reducing ministries during Kurti's last term, describing it as an attempt to create an image of austerity.
"When the number of ministries was reduced, there was a populist intention to pretend that we were an austerity government. In the end, it turned out that it wasn't even an austerity government and it didn't produce the desired results," he said.
However, he raised concerns about procedural aspects, emphasizing that the Regulation needs to be changed and that no budget has been planned for four ministries.
"It was surprising to me how the Government decided to proceed with the budget law in Parliament without having a budget for four ministries," Salihu declared, adding that he was surprised why there was no ministry of European integration.