Through a concept document, the government, which is expected to be renewed after winning the December 28 elections, has clarified its intentions for a new law on public enterprises, assessing the one approved in 2008 as deficient. It also mentions the issue of ownership, namely the transfer of the majority of the shares of enterprises to the Sovereign Fund - the law for which has been in the Constitutional Court since December 2023.
A concept document from the Ministry of Economy makes clear the goals for drafting and approving a new law on public enterprises, which would also be in harmony with the one on the Sovereign Fund.
While emphasizing the need for legislative revision, one of the first issues mentioned is the unfulfilled task by governments to adopt a property policy.
In this context, the concept document also mentions the role that the Sovereign Fund is expected to have.
"After the adoption of the law on the Sovereign Fund of the Republic of Kosovo (RK), this ownership policy should be reviewed in accordance with the state ownership of enterprises, as a Commercial Company (SC) with legal personality in which the Fund has or will acquire the majority of shares or ownership participation."
However, the Law on the Fund is still under consideration by the Constitutional Court as of December 26, 2023, or 11 days after it was approved in the Assembly.
"This case is currently under review. The decision will be taken after reviewing all constitutional aspects of the claims made in the request by the submitting party, in accordance with the Constitution, the Law on the Constitutional Court and the Rules of Procedure of the Court."
With this law, the current government aims to place a large portion of public enterprises under the administration of the Sovereign Fund.
However, the concept document largely deals with the problems identified in the legislation in force for public enterprises, management, poor financial performance, lack of accountability and transparency.
The document's Working Group, composed of representatives from the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and the Prime Minister's Office, emphasized that continuing without changes, with the current law, leads to deepening the problems.
"This option will continue with the decline in the overall value of publicly owned assets and may seriously jeopardize the quality of services provided to the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo (RK). Furthermore, the lack of general public policy regarding the strategic orientation for the development and organization of Public Enterprises (PE) in the market may have negative consequences on the country's economy. On the other hand, the failure to reform the organizational structure of Public Enterprises (PE) prevents their efficient functioning. The lack of full integration of corporate governance principles in normative acts and their implementation in PEs consists of a lack of responsibility, accountability and control."
The document lists in the form of recommendations the issues that the new law should address, including punitive provisions in cases of non-fulfillment of business plans by public enterprises.
While some examples of countries in the region and the EU are mentioned, they mainly speak in positive tones about those that have centralized models of management of state-owned enterprises. /Tv Dukagjini/
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