Life in Kosovo discusses about emergency situations
Tonight, Life in Kosovo will broadcast a debate on the emergency situations in our country.
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Every Thursday starting from 20:30, Radio Television Kosovo, RTK, broadcasts the TV debate show "Life in Kosovo", a joint production of BIRN and RTK.
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Life in Kosovo debates the sale of Prishtina International Airport and recent EULEX raids
29 April 2010 Life in Kosovo debated the benefits and problems for Kosovo of selling its international airport.
The questions asked included: At what price should Prishtina International Airport be sold? How can we be sure that the investor will fulfil the requirements in the contract? How has the airport been managed until now? Why was a huge employment drive carried out last year? How will the money from the sale be used? How did the Air Transport Association evaluate the airport?
To discuss these and other issues regarding the airport, host Jeta Xharra was joined in the studio by:
Agron Mustafa – managing director of Prishtina International Airport
Gjergj Buxhuku – an economist from the Industrial Confederation of Albania
Lorik Fejzullahu – from the Ministry of Economy and Finance
Berat Rukiqi – from the Kosova Chamber of Commerce
The debate opened with Lorik Fejzullahu being asked how the airport came to be privatised.
He replied that the government had made a decision in June 2008, after a special committee at the Ministry of Transport considered various options for dealing with the airport.
After a feasibility study was conducted to decide what changes were needed for the airport to reach international standards, it was concluded that private participation was the best choice.
Asked about Prishtina Airport’s grading by the Air Transport Association, Mr Fejzullahu said that no such grading has taken place, adding that the main objective of the privatisation is for the airport’s infrastructure and service to reach grade A within twenty years.
Gjergj Buxhuku, asked for his opinion, said that privatisation is not a complicated issue, because it is much easier for a government to sell an airport than to build one.
He went on to explain the differences between Tirana’s airport and Prishtina’s: “when Tirana Airport was given under concession, the situation was totally unacceptable for the general public.
The only solution to the problem of there being no effective management in the airport was privatisation…however, when we take a look at Prishtina’s airport, there is a totally different situation, and the operating procedures are different.
The service at Prishtina Airport is much better than it was in Tirana six years ago.”
Mr Buxhuku added that, before Prishtina Airport is sold, the benefits and risks of such an action must be carefully analysed.
Berat Rukiqi, asked what should be taken into account when an airport is privatised, said that first of all, “we need the private sector to enter the market, because there is a lack of foreign investment,” adding that “public enterprises have become a budgetary and managerial difficulty for the government, so, given such limited budgets, we cannot expect investment in the public sector, such as the airport.”
Agron Mustafa was asked whether his team have managed the airport well thus far, and whether he supports the privatisation plan. He replied that “now is the right time to end the long process of the privatisation, based upon the financial analysis that concluded this to be the best solution.”
Asked whether Kosovo would really benefit from the privatisation, Mr. Fejzullahu said that “first of all, the budget of Kosovo cannot support big investments into the airport’s infrastructure, which are needed to offer better conditions to passengers.”
He also added that an investment of between 80 and 100 million euros, the biggest in the
country’s economy so far, will be brought in from the privatisation within three years.
Debates about EULEX raids
The second debate centred around EULEX’s raids of the Ministry of Transport and Industry, and the houses of Minister Limaj and his brother’s apartment, and whether the panel thought these were concrete acts against corruption, or just media spectacles?
Host Muhamet Hajrullahu was joined in the studio by the following guests:
Belul Beqaj – analyst
Astrit Gashi – editor of daily newspaper Zeri
Petrit Selimi – columnist at daily newspaper Express
To begin the discsussion, Belul Beqaj was asked for his opinion of the EULEX raids, which were the first involving a minister. Mr Beqaj replied that “what happened with the raids has not been an ordinary event; it was an extraordinary process, which will have a serious impact on Kosovo’s image.”
He also added that he thinks this case will open new negotiations between EULEX officials and the government, and showed that the last Cabinet reshuffle did not find support from the international body.
Astrit Gashi, asked if his newspaper, Zeri, knew more information about the raids, claimed that “many things are still unclear. For me personally, it is unexpected how the operation has been conducted by the EULEX police.”
Petrit Selimi was asked if the situation is unclear to him also.
He replied that “first of all, I wouldn’t agree in total that the population didn’t know that such a thing can happen, and we have read in many daily newspapers for almost three months that Peter Faith was targeting a minster due to corruption allegations”.
Selimi continued by saying that the EULEX raids had become a media spectacle simply because of how they had attracted attention. Without EULEX announcing anything about what they were doing, they had drawn a large crowd to Rexhep Luci street in Prishtina.
“We can say that, with this action, EULEX tried to show us that they are working on their investigations, but nothing more,” Mr Selimi claimed, adding that if EULEX cannot prove that Minister Limaj has misused his position, then Kosovo’s citizens “will be disappointed in the government, internationals, and all the institutions in the judicial system”.
Mr. Beqaj said that Peter Faith’s declaration that the international organisations in Kosovo will continue removing deputy ministers from their positions, tells us that this process of investigations is not over with this case.
Along with the debate, some vox pop interviews with Prishtina citizens about the raids were shown by journalist Edona Musa.
Other reports
After the debates, journalist Artan Haracia presented a tongue-in-cheek soap opera about activist group Vetevendosje’s leader, Albin Kurti, and researcher Faton Ademi gave a report on privatisation in Mitrovica.
Finally, in the Week’s Highlight section, journalist Petrit Collaku reported from the event ‘With Sport for Reconciliation’, a boxing event organised in honour of international Roma day.
Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television, RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20
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The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
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