Kosovo budget for 2000 set at $299 million.
JANUARY 21 -- A budget of 562 million deutsche marks (about $299 million) in expenditures and revenues has been set for the calendar year 2000, the Chief of Kosovo's Central Fiscal Authority, Mr. Alan Pearson, announced today in Pristina.The Kosovo Consolidated Budget for 2000 will cover the costs of general administration, municipalities and subsidies the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is making to public enterprises. Investment requirements and the costs of reconstruction are not included.
The budget will be financed by domestic revenues of some 362 million deutsche marks (about $193 million) and a contribution from donors of 200 million deutsche marks (about $106 million).
Some 20 per cent of the budget is earmarked for one of UNMIK's "highest priorities" -- assistance to the most needy, Mr. Pearson said. The distribution of assistance will begin in February.
The budget also envisages a shift away from paying stipends to public workers to wages. Under the budget, compensation to public sector employees will increase by nearly 50 per cent, to approximately 270 deutsche mark per month (about $144).
Mr. Pearson said the domestic revenue base would be strengthened to support the budget. The Hotel, Food and Beverage Tax will come into effect on 1 February and the tax base will be further strengthened later this year with the introduction of wage taxes and withholding taxes on business.
On the donor front, Mr. Pearson, said UNMIK currently has pledges of 135 million deutsche mark ($ 72 million) towards the 200 million deutsche mark target. He said UNMIK was talking to donor countries, including the European Union which has pledged some 70 million deutsche ($ 37 million) mark to date, and was confident or reaching the target.
"The sustainability component of the budget is critical; the objective is to develop a budget that has a capacity to remain in place when the donor community withdraws its funding," he said.
Kosovo Protection Corps leaders sworn in.
JANUARY 21 -- Top leaders of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) were sworn in during a ceremony today at UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Headquarters.The 44 former freedom fighters took a pledge of honour committing them to serve Kosovo as a civilian emergency response agency. The KPC was established on 20 September as part of the transformation of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
"There is a time for everything. A time for arms and a time for tools. This is the time to build. You are now a civilian corps, proud and ready for all challenges," Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, told the new leaders.
The Commander of the international peacekeeping force, KFOR, General Klaus Reinhardt, and the European High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr Javier Solana, also attended the KPC inaugural ceremony.
The KPC will consist of 3,000 active members and up to 2,000 reservists. The remainder of KPC members will be selected in the coming weeks and the agency is expected to be fully operational by September 200.
The KPC has a budget for 2000 of 34 million deutsche marks (about $18 million), funded by UN Member States.
The KPC has no role in law enforcement, riot control, counter-terrorism or any other task related to the maintenance of law and order. Its immediate mission is to assist in the reconstruction and rebuilding of the civil infrastructure including de-mining, road repairs and house repairs.
UN refugee agency Chief of Mission in Kosovo dies.
JANUARY 21 -- The UN High Commission for Refugees Chief of Mission in Kosovo, Mr. David Riley died on Wednesday in his apartment in Pristina, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.Mr. Riley, 50, was responsible for "much of the successes that Kosovars enjoy today", the Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner said today in a tribute. He started as a UN volunteer and worked in every field and "his contributions were monumental."
UNHCR spokesman Mr. Peter Kessler said Mr. Riley was the man singly most responsible for the massive relief effort mounted in Kosovo in recent months, helping UNHCR and its partners assemble a rational, fast-response programme to help Kosovars through their first post-war winter.
Mr. Riley had worked in Bosnia in a similar capacity to his responsibilities in Kosovo. He oversaw relief programmes worldwide worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Mr. Kessler said, and played a lead role in organizing the return of nearly one million Mozambican refugees from their country of asylum, Malawi.
A former Peace Corps volunteer who served in Haiti and Togo, Mr. Riley joined the UN as a volunteer in Mogadishu in 1981 before joining UNHCR a year later.
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Outstanding issues on Kosovo Protection Corps "ironed out": UN mission.
JANUARY 19 -- Outstanding issues on the establishment of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) have been "ironed out", the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.UNMIK spokeswoman Nadia Younes also told journalists in Pristina that the formal ceremony establishing KPC, scheduled for today, has been postponed to Friday.
She said that during "technical discussions" held until late last evening among the Head of UNMIK Dr. Bernard Kouchner, KFOR Commander Klaus Reinhardt, and KPC Commander Agim Ceku, "all outstanding issues were ironed out".
The KPC senior corps will have no military ranks and will wear non-military insignias. Commander Ceku will have three deputies "who will divide the responsibilities among themselves". One deputy, who will be appointed on Friday, will be a non-Albanian, Ms. Younes said.
On Friday, approximately 43 senior corps leaders of the former Kosovo Liberation Army, which has been transformed into KPC, will be sworn in. The selection of the remainder of the corps, numbering about 3,000 active members and up to 2,000 reservists, will be completed by the end of January.
Interim Administrative Council allocates nine additional departments.
JANUARY 18 -- The Interim Administrative Council for Kosovo (IAC) today allocated an additional nine administrative departments to political parties and Independents, bringing the total number of departments allocated so far to 15 out of the 19 originally proposed.The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said in a statement issued in Pristina that two departments were allocated to each of three political parties and three departments were reserved for Independents. The nominees will co-head the departments with representatives appointed by UNMIK.
The LDK (Kosovo Democratic League) will co-head General Public Services and Post & Telecommunications. The PPDK (Democratic Progress Party of Kosovo) will co-head Health and Social Security and Civil Security & Emergency Preparedness. The LBD (United Democratic League) will co-head Utilities and Non-Resident Affairs.
Democratization and Civil Society, Culture, and Youth and Sports were allocated to Independents, while the four remaining departments of Labour and Employment, Transport and Infrastructure, Agriculture, and Environment will be allocated to minorities.
In addition, the IAC appointed Prof. Musa Limani (PPDK) and Mr. Ian Fletcher (deputy to the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the EU) to co-head the Department of Trade and Industry. This brings to six the number of departments to which co-heads have been named.
Kouchner tells Interim Administrative Council that level of violence in Kosovo is "unacceptable".
JANUARY 18 -- Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo, Dr. Bernard Kouchner today told the Interim Administrative Council that the level of violence in the province continues to be "unacceptable".Briefing the Council in Pristina on the security situation, Dr. Kouchner said despite the cold weather which normally decreased the incidents of crime, the past ten days had seen several violent incidents, especially targeting minority groups.
He noted cases of brutal murders, arson and bombings against various minority communities and called for more help from the local population and the local leadership to uncover information about these crimes.
"When the victims of crime are minorities, the police continue to receive little or no co-operation from the local population in identifying suspects and providing other information" he told the Council.
UNMIK calls for a common approach to housing reconstruction in Kosovo.
JANUARY 18 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has strongly urged donors and agencies involved in the reconstruction of houses in Kosovo to adopt a common approach, so as to make the best use of limited resources.In a statement issued today, UNMIK said that good co-ordination is critical to the success of the 2000 rehabilitation programme.
UNMIK said that it held a meeting last Thursday in Pristina with donors and agencies and recommended that agreements be reached on the selection criteria for beneficiaries, common standards of rehabilitation, mechanism(s) for implementation of donor-assisted rehabilitation programmes and overall co-ordination.
In identifying needy households, an assessment of the urgency of the situation of each household should be made, among other factors. Accountable local structures should also participate in the selection of beneficiaries, UNMIK said.
While the level of assistance to households will differ from case to case, common standards of rehabilitation should be adopted. UNMIK recommended, as a possible standard, sufficient materials and labour for the primary rehabilitation of a floor space equivalent to 75 square metres.
UNMIK said that while it does not propose any single implementation mechanism, emphasis must be on flexibility and maximum control by the beneficiaries.
Kouchner signs regulation setting up the Kosovo Joint Interim Administrative Structure.
JANUARY 17-- The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Dr Bernard Kouchner has signed a regulation on the Kosovo Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS).JIAS will assist in administering Kosovo until the establishment of genuine Kosovo institutions, according to the regulation signed on Saturday.
Representatives of political forces of Kosovo will share provisional administrative management with the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK). The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) retains legislative and executive authority.
All Kosovo structures of an executive, legislative or judicial nature will be transformed and progressively integrated into the JIAS and will cease to exist by 31 January 2000 when the JIAS will be operational.
The consultative role of the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) will be maintained, but its membership will be enlarged to better reflect the pluralistic composition of Kosovo. The Kosovo members of the Interim Administrative Council (IAC) are also members of the KTC.
The IAC will make recommendations to the SRSG for amendments to the applicable law and for new regulations. It will also propose policy guidelines for Administrative Departments in applying the applicable law.
