se times
04/11/2010
Privatisation advocates say the public can expect better services and lower costs, but critics warn against rushing the process.
By Muhamet Bayshori for Southeast European Times in Pristina – 04/11/10
Privatisation advocates say the public can expect better services and lower costs, but critics warn against rushing the process.
By Muhamet Bayshori for Southeast European Times in Pristina – 04/11/10
Last month, parliament adopted a strategy for privatising Kosovo's largest telecom, as part of the country's new economic strategy.
Many consider Post and Telecom of Kosovo (PTK) the country's most successful firm since the end of the 1999 Kosovo conflict. Starting out with zero infrastructure, it now employs more than 3,000 people.
Its privatisation has not been a simple matter, however. Opposition parties, and some civic organisations, say the process has not been transparent and the selling price will be too low.
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his Democratic Party managed to secure enough parliamentary votes to overcome the opposition and put the strategy to a vote. With only 50 lawmakers present, it was 47-2, with one abstention. Opposition lawmakers have vowed to take the issue to the Constitutional Court.
"International financial markets are undergoing a deep crisis, which affects the purchasing power of investors and reduces the market value of PTK. The government insists that the privatisation occur without knowing the full value of PTK, which opens the possibility of price manipulation, "said Avni Zogiani of the NGO Cohu.
"We are not for any major decisions that are taken without political and social consensus," said Shpend Ahmeti, a Pristina economist from the FER-Fryma e re Party. "The government has pushed a proposal without explaining the benefits. At a fragile moment for Kosovo, such decisions should not be taken without a social and political consensus."
Thaci, addressing lawmakers, said that the 75% privatisation of PTK shares enables the full liberalisation of the telecom market in Kosovo. This, he added, will bring better and cheaper services.
Many consider Post and Telecom of Kosovo (PTK) the country's most successful firm since the end of the 1999 Kosovo conflict. Starting out with zero infrastructure, it now employs more than 3,000 people.
Its privatisation has not been a simple matter, however. Opposition parties, and some civic organisations, say the process has not been transparent and the selling price will be too low.
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and his Democratic Party managed to secure enough parliamentary votes to overcome the opposition and put the strategy to a vote. With only 50 lawmakers present, it was 47-2, with one abstention. Opposition lawmakers have vowed to take the issue to the Constitutional Court.
"International financial markets are undergoing a deep crisis, which affects the purchasing power of investors and reduces the market value of PTK. The government insists that the privatisation occur without knowing the full value of PTK, which opens the possibility of price manipulation, "said Avni Zogiani of the NGO Cohu.
"We are not for any major decisions that are taken without political and social consensus," said Shpend Ahmeti, a Pristina economist from the FER-Fryma e re Party. "The government has pushed a proposal without explaining the benefits. At a fragile moment for Kosovo, such decisions should not be taken without a social and political consensus."
Thaci, addressing lawmakers, said that the 75% privatisation of PTK shares enables the full liberalisation of the telecom market in Kosovo. This, he added, will bring better and cheaper services.
The government sees the telecom's privatisation as part of an overall reform of public enterprises, in keeping with an agreement between Kosovo and the IMF.
But Albin Kurti of the Vetvendosje Movement is sharply critical. He claims the government is pursuing a neoliberal economic policy that will destroy Kosovo's economy.
"The current situation is terrible, with the government aiming to sell the most developed enterprises in Kosovo quickly and cheaply. We think that the management of PTK has failed and is corrupt, and they should be punished, but not the public, not the whole company," said Kurti.
The outgoing government, which fell on Tuesday (November 2nd) in a no-confidence vote, has been hoping to conclude PTK's privatisation by the end of the year, so that income from the process can be included in the 2011 budget. Should that fail, analysts warn, revenue shortfalls could be in store.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
But Albin Kurti of the Vetvendosje Movement is sharply critical. He claims the government is pursuing a neoliberal economic policy that will destroy Kosovo's economy.
"The current situation is terrible, with the government aiming to sell the most developed enterprises in Kosovo quickly and cheaply. We think that the management of PTK has failed and is corrupt, and they should be punished, but not the public, not the whole company," said Kurti.
The outgoing government, which fell on Tuesday (November 2nd) in a no-confidence vote, has been hoping to conclude PTK's privatisation by the end of the year, so that income from the process can be included in the 2011 budget. Should that fail, analysts warn, revenue shortfalls could be in store.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου