Democracy Plus (D+) urges the Ministry of Finance, Labor, and Transfers (MFLT) to stop using Special Service Agreements/Contracts (SSAs) to extend work contracts for experts/consultants in positions that should be filled by regular staff through standard recruitment procedures.

In 2024, MFLT contracted the same consultant for daily administrative tasks.

From 2021 to 2024, MFLT conducted five procurement activities, awarding in four cases the same consultant. Three of the five activities were tasks within the Property Tax Department’s responsibility, such as: Providing clarifications to municipalities on property tax issues; Preparing data lists on municipal debts; Collaborating with Municipal Property Tax Offices, etc.

The other two activities covered tasks under the Department for Immovable Property Valuation, including: property valuation for taxation, utilizing IT systems for the valuation process, preparing reports on expropriation and property exchange procedures, etc.

D+ monitored these contracts and highlighted issues in the 2023 report “Misuse of Special Service Agreements/Contracts at the Central Level.” Such contracting practices must end as they undermine free competition, enable favoritism, create parallel positions within the institution, and demotivate regular staff, who receive lower monthly remuneration for the same responsibilities.

The full report is available at: https://dplus.org/en/publications/misuse-of-special-service-agreements-in-the-central-level/17541/ 

Disclaimer:

This reaction has been published with the financial support of the European Union and Smart Balkans. The contents of this reaction are the sole responsibility of Democracy Plus (D+) and do not represent the views of the European Union and SMART Balkans. The project “Encouraging transparent, accountable and efficient public money spending through public procurement in Kosovo”, is funded by the EU and SMART Balkans, implemented by Democracy Plus (D+).