By the proposal of the Ministry of Economy, Employment, Trade, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Investments, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo has dismissed the boards of directors and appointed temporary boards in three central publicly owned enterprises: Kosovo Post, Kosovo Railways “Infrakos” and the Regional Water Company “Prishtina”.
Earlier, the boards were dismissed and the temporary boards were appointed in the companies Kosovo Telecom and Trepça J.S.C.
The Ministry has proposed and the Government has approved the appointment as temporary directors of proven experts, with local and international experience, who will work with independence and integrity for saving our enterprises.
See the decisions of the Government and the explanatory memorandums of the Minister for dismissal-appointment of boards:
- PE Kosovo Telecom J.S.C.
- PE Trepça J.S.C.
- PE Kosovo Railways – Infrakos J.S.C.
- PE Kosovo Post J.S.C.
- PE Regional water Company J.S.C.
The appointments of the temporary boards are in accordance with the constitution and laws.
The Republic of Kosovo has a constitutional obligation to well-manage public enterprises. According to the Law on Publicly Owned Enterprises (POE), the Government exercises the shareholder rights.
The government has a duty to dismiss the board of directors "immediately" when it has reason to believe that a board has violated its duties (Law on POE, Article 19.3). And when the board is dismissed, the government has a duty to appoint a temporary board "as soon as possible." The government should make every effort to comply with the requirements and qualifications required for the full-term board, but there should be no competition for the temporary board (Law on POE, Article 43).
Conditions and legal qualifications ensure the independence and integrity of the board, prevent conflicts of interest, and determine the profiles and professional experience required in the board. Field specialists and accounting experts are especially in demand. Elected political appointees and party leaders of the last 36 months are excluded, but not the members (Law on POE, Article 17).
The government has strictly enforced the law by acting "immediately" in dismissing offenders and "as soon as possible" by appointing temporary boards. By the proposal of the Ministry in the temporary boards will serve proven experts and responsible professionals who meet the legal criteria. Their mission is to revive our enterprises, which are now on the verge of bankruptcy.
With the decisions of the 21st, meeting, the Government has appointed the following temporary boards:
PE Post of Kosovo
Mentor Arifaj — engineer, with experience in the banking sector in Canada; no party or political leadership position
Saimie Thaçi — economist, IT, 18 years of experience in the public sector; no party or political leadership position
Kujtim Shala — auditor, economist, IT, 11 years of experience in the public sector; no party or political leadership position
Blerton Abazi — management, IT, 12 years of experience in the university field, civil society and innovation projects; no party or political leadership position
PE Kosovo Railways – Infrakos
Enis Berisha — Mechanical Engineer, 20 years of experience in railways and transport; no party or political leadership position
Vjollca Jashari — auditor, 19 years of experience in banking, finance and auditing; no party or political leadership position
Artan Dermaku — engineer, university lecturer, 18 years of experience in academia, management and engineering projects; no party or political leadership position
Abdullah Lala — 30 years of experience in management, law and human resources; no party or political leadership position
PE RWC Prishtina
Mentor Hyseni — auditor, director, 12 years of work experience as auditor and public finance expert; no party or political leadership position
Hajrije Morina — hydro engineer, 21 years of experience in water management; no party or political leadership position
Idriz Maliqi — hydrotechnical engineer, 20 years of experience in water and project management; no party or political leadership position
Seat Bilibani — economist, 8 years of experience in administration and enterprises; no party or political leadership position, belonging to the Bosnian community
Public enterprises should be a pillar of the country's economic development. Moreover, these enterprises provide basic services, such as: electricity, water, waste management, telecommunications, railways, – without these a modern state cannot survive.
The temporary board is appointed to eliminate gaps in the administration of the enterprise. The directors of the board have a duty to design and implement a successful business plan. The temporary board serves until the selection of the full-term board, but not longer than 6 months.
From now on, the Secretary General of the Office of the Prime Minister is authorized to initiate selection procedures, by appointing a recommendation commission consisted of civil servants with the qualifications set out in the law. The Secretary shall also designate and apply the rules of procedure of the Commission, which include the prohibition of conflict of interest and the evaluation methodology. The commission then identifies and proposes to the Government the candidates for the new board. The progress of the selection of directors should be open and impartial, fully based on meritocracy.
The law on publicly owned enterprises was adopted in 2008, and was amended twice, in 2012 and 2015. During this year, the ministry plans to draft a new law.
(See: Law on Publicly Owned Enterprises )