Riinvest Institute 2014

ARTICLE III
Alban Hashani 
TRANSPARENCY IN THE 
PRIVATIZATION PROCESS
A summary of problems that have characterized and 
continue to characterize the process of privatization in 
Kosovo

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13
for officials that implement the process than other 
methods used elsewhere in transition countries, 
nevertheless, lack of transparency, in addition to the 
low performance of privatized companies, has fueled 
opposition and skepticism am ong the Kosovar soci-
ety regarding the process (RIINVEST/Forum 2015, 
2004). This lack of transparency continues even now 
that the process of privatization of PEs is coming to an 
end. In particular, there is not sufficient transparency 
regarding the process of resolving legal disputes with 
creditors. As a result of these unresolved disputes, 
accumulated income from the sale of privatized as-
sets, which represent one-seventh of the country’s 
economy, continues to be held in a trust account, fro-
zen and withdrawn from economic activity.
Regarding PEs, the privatization process was initi-
ated in the central public enterprises (KEK, Airport 
and Telecom) managed by the Kosovar government, 
which is the owner in trust of these enterprises. The 
format of the process of privatization of these en-
terprises has been done without consensual con-
sultations and without qualitative debate. In fact, it 
created the impression that the government is trying 
to keep this debate within relatively narrow circles 
(RIINVEST/Forum 2015, 2009). In the absence of 
comprehensive public debates through which a basic 
consensus should be reached among key stakehold-
ers linked to this matter, political and social tensions 
have been created, which in particular in the case of 
the privatization of the Telecom, have compromised 
the process.
In the absence of transparency, there is continued 
uncertainty regarding the format of privatization as 
well as the assumptions on which these privatization 
models are built. Besides, there is a concentration of 
power at the Government Committee on Privatization 
and the Advisory Committee on Privatization, without 
clear oversight by the parliament, which is not wit-
nessed in any other country in the region. Also, the 
level of support in the consulting teams is at unprec-
edented levels compared to other experiences in the 
region and beyond; while the general public, includ-
ing representative institutions, do not get informed 
enough about this issue (RIINVEST/Forum 2015, 
2009).
Lack of transparency is the common denominator 
in all cases of privatization led by the government, 
which has failed to clarify the expectations from these 
arrangements. Such a situation creates room for con-
cern among the society. Especially for the fact that 
the sectors, in which central public enterprises op-
erate, are of strategic importance and show features 
of natural monopolies. First of all, decisions regarding 
these sectors should go through and be monitored 
by the parliament as a representative body of public 
interest. Also, the direct participation of civil society 
in the process is essential to create comprehensive 
social compliance regarding the way forward in this 
process. Despite these concerns, there has been no 
qualitative debate yet; the process is not embedded 
in an adequate legal framework and therefore the 
application of adequate procedures of transparency 
and accountability has not been ensured. 

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n
The importance of transparency in a country’s ju-
dicial system can never be overstated. In democratic, 
market-based societies, independent and impartial 
judiciaries contribute to equitable and stable balance 
of power within the government.
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Lack of trans-
parency in judiciary creates more opportunities for 
corruption, going beyond bribes or misuse of funds 
allocated to judiciary, to biased participation in trials 
and judgments as a result of the politicization of the 
judiciary and the party loyalties of judges.
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In Kosovo, amongst many other issues, an on-go-
ing feature of judiciary is lack of transparency.
15
Transparency plays a key role in the ability of citi-
zens to enforce their rights and obtain accountabil-
ity in the justice system.
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In a survey conducted in 
Kosovo by the Justice and the People Campaign 
(2011), 16.2 percent of the respondents stated that 
they did not trust the justice system due to lack of 
transparency. In this section, I will try to summarize 
some of the problems that characterize transparen-
cy in the Kosovo judiciary system.