Today, the Assembly of Kosovo is discussing the latest developments in the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) in an extraordinary session, after last week’s arrest of the executive director of that public company Nagip Krasniqi, who is charged with abuse of official position or authority, exercise of influence and conflict of interest, reports Anadolia.
The opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) sent a request to hold an extraordinary session, accusing the Government of Kosovo of poor energy management and of interfering with the work of the Special Prosecutor’s Office.
The head of the PDK parliamentary group, Abelard Tahiri, said that single-source contracts were the biggest abuses committed by the suspended KEK director Krasniqi. Tahiri pointed out that he will send these contracts to the Special Prosecutor’s Office.
“The assembly has the right to convene a session when a high official of a political party is arrested. 30 contracts worth 72 million euros were signed in tenders with a single source in five months. If you look at these contracts, you can see the great abuse committed by the director of KEK. So, 30 contracts with one source of Nagip Krasniqi, who I believe is rightly in custody,” said Tahiri.
The MP of the opposition Democratic Union of Kosovo, Driton Selmanaj, said that the investigations into the suspended head of KEK Krasniqi are not stopped, but added that the role of Kosovo’s ambassador to Croatia, Martin Berishaj, should also be clarified. Selmanaj stated that the approach of Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government to KEK was unacceptable from the beginning.
“The approach of Kurti’s government is unacceptable from the takeover of this corporation, from the appointment of Nagip Krasniqi as director, and then from the election of the Board of Directors. LDK has repeatedly expressed its concern about the management of the crisis by this corporation. We expect that the investigation will not be stopped until the case is shed light, including the role of Martin Berishaj”, stressed Selmanaj.
He added that Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s attack on the Special Prosecutor’s Office was unacceptable.
The president of the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and MP Ramush Haradinaj accused Prime Minister Kurti of protecting the arrested Nagip Krasniqi and of attacking the Special Prosecutor’s Office.
“Prime Minister Kurti, the Self-Determination Movement, defined a short relationship as a model of corruption. Kurti personally interviewed the members of the Water Supply Board. No one could get a position without being interviewed by Albin Kurti. He is the creator of corruption in a short circuit. He expressed distrust in all the others and considered that only his friends are uncorrupted, and if the prosecutor is not his friend, he is corrupt,” said Haradinaj.
The head of the parliamentary group of the ruling Self-Determination Movement Mimoza Kusari Lila spoke about the performance of KEK’s management, citing several positive financial reports of the company.
She stated that the opposition fought the fiercest battle against the Government in the Assembly of Kosovo precisely in the field of energy, but that the investigation into energy abuses did not produce any results that could hold the Government accountable. She said that when that didn’t work, a friend was called, alluding to the prosecutor.
“This call resulted in a spectacular arrest, the taking out of a high-ranking state official in handcuffs, without wanting to prejudge Krasniqi’s guilt or innocence,” Kusari Lila pointed out, adding that such arrests do not happen because someone is given tenders, but because tenders are and contracts do not give to someone else.
The Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanoli, asked the opposition why they rarely talk about policies in the energy sector, and often about tenders. She did not comment on the arrest of Nagip Krasniqi, but pointed out that in the next two years, with the investments being made, KEK will ensure that the power plants will be in operation for the next 20 years.
Otherwise, the Board of Directors of the Kosovo Energy Corporation made a decision yesterday to suspend the arrested executive director Nagip Krasniqi, who was sentenced to one month’s detention by the Basic Court in Pristina. In place of Krasniqi, Perparim Kabashi, the current director of the Central Unit for Planning and Strategy of KEK, was appointed acting.
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