Delays to the sale of Post and Telecommunications of Kosovo, a lucrative state asset, have deprived the budget of an expected 300 million euro. Failure to privatise Post and Telecommunications of Kosovo in 2010 has left a black hole in the country’s budget, worth about 300 million euro. Delays to the sale, planned for completion by the end of this year, are blamed on a breakdown in relations between the government’s coalition partners, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, and the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK.
On October 16, the LDK, the junior partner in the coalition, walked out of the government led by Hashim Thaci. A snap general election is expected over the next few months.Parliament was expected to approve the sale of 75 per cent of the government’s stake in the socially owned firm on October 14. The sale, already delayed once in July, was put back again after LDK deputies joined opposition parties in walking out of the chamber before the vote, depriving the assembly of a quorum. The walkout happened despite international pressure on Kosovo to vote the deal through. The IMF has made it clear it wishes to see the sale go ahead.
The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, also encouraged the sell-off on her recent visit to Kosovo. It is not clear when Kosovo’s parliament will be asked to vote again on the sale. Some experts say the next opportunity will not come before new elections, expected on February 13, 2011, at the latest. The Ministry of Economy and Finance had budgeted to sell the PTK by the end of 2010. The ministry did not include an estimate for the value of the PTK in its projections for the years 2010 to 2013, published in September this year.However, the IMF has estimated the Post’s worth at about 300 million euro.
News source: BalkanInsight link: article
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