almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

Hearings for budgetary proposals are held regularly. The MoF invites representatives
from different organisations to discuss details for each budget line in order to agree
on final budget proposals. KCSS research shows hearings are transparent, yet there is
no prior notification to interested parties by the MoF on the timing of hearings. This
makes it difficult for citizens and civil society representatives to attend these meetings.
The hearings are set for a specific date but only the actors directly involved are
informed, though there may be some exceptions when this information is made publicly
available (KDI 2010, p.37).
Procurement oversight is regulated by the Law on Public Procurement which was
adopted in 2003, amended in 2007 and replaced by the adoption of a new law in
2011. At the time of its adoption, this law was a turning point for public institutions. It
required them to consolidate their procurement units and follow the law so as to ensure
maximum efficiency, transparency, cost effectiveness and fair use of public funds
and resources in Kosovo (Law on Procurement 2003, Art 1.1). In addition, the new
law includes some provisions suggested by an EU directive, in alignment with international
standards. There is no specific legislation regulating defence and security procurement.
The KSF and KP legislation does not have any separate provisions on procurement
procedures, meaning it should comply with the Kosovo Public Procurement
Law. The Law on the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA), however, includes a provision
indicating that, “in extraordinary circumstances relevant to the work of KIA, the KIA
director in specific situations may expend funds without regard to the provision of the
laws relating to government expenditures”(Law on KIA 2008, Art. 42.1).
Procurement in the security sector in general also has been criticised by the Office
of the Auditor General, civil society and the media for lacking transparency. Tender
announcements, made only on the web pages of institutions or procurement agencies,
might not be sufficient in implementing the transparency provisions of the Law
on Access to Official Documents. There is no data showing that most bids have been
published in daily newspapers or other sources in order to reach more potential bidders.
Although the security institutions regularly publish information on contracting,
annulling of tenders or calls for bids on their web pages, this information is not updated
regularly. Furthermore, the publication for all of the contracting authorities is
published with approximately a three month delay.
A number of shortcomings in the procurement practices of different security actors
have been identified by the authors. Shortcomings in the management of procurement
are evident in the turnover among procurement officers at the central and local
levels. Training provided to procurement officers, organised since 2009, is insufficient
and has not been in accordance with applicable laws (KCSS, 2012).
Single source tenders are one of the key problems in public procurement in Kosovo.
According to the rules on procurement, tenders can be awarded to a single company
without a call for tender only if this service provider is ‘specialised’ in a specific service
or purchase. The significant rise in single source tenders in recent years, however,
raises serious concerns about a lack of open competition and disregard for regular
procurement procedures. The general figures showed the tender passing through sin-
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