17 NOV 2017

Lëvizja FOL is non-governmental organization dedicated to contributing to the transparency and accountability of public institutions through research, advocacy and the promotion of active citizenship.

Lëvizja FOL opens job vacancy for Lead Research

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop research structure and manage data collection for research projects
• Develop methodologies, work plans, logical frameworks and draft project proposals
• Identifies the necessary human resources for data collection and data entry
• Monitor the quality of the research
• Prepare analysis and make recommendations for clear and effective policy outcomes from research findings
• Prepares and compiles analytical reports within the scope of the organization’s activity
• Proposes an agenda for conducting research on the policies of public institutions
• It monitors Kosovo’s public institutions and analyzes their performance
• Prepares the final reports of research projects

 

Professional experience

• Have completed Bachelor studies in Political Science, Public Administration, Law or other relevant fields, higher education is a priority.
• High analytical skills and academic writing
• English language skills
• Experience with research projects and report writing

Required Documents:

• CV
• Motivation Letter
• Proofs of professional experience

How to apply:

Required documents should be sent to the email address: [email protected], under the subject: Applying for the Research Leader

Deadline for application: 27.11.2017 at 17:00.

Peja, 16 November 2017 – Lëvizja FOL organized today the conversation between the students and the President of the Basic Court in Peja, Kreshnik Radoniqi and the President of the Basic Prosecution in Peja, Agim Kurmehaj. The topic of this conversation was: Education and awareness raising of students about the phenomenon of corruption and the fight against it.

The President of the Basic Prosecution in Peja, Agim Kurmehaj, presented to the students the work of this institution and the steps they have taken to fight corruption. He encouraged students to apply for internship, to take part in court sessions because the practice with direct participation in the sessions will help students to exercise their profession in the future. He also invited students who have any questions or complaints about prosecution to appear in his office. “My office is open every Friday from 13am to 16pm for every citizen who has a complaint or request for a case, and you should not hesitate to file your complaints,” Kurmehaj said.

Also, the President of the Basic Court in Peja, Kreshnik Radoniqi, presented before the students the work that this Court is making in fighting corruption. He said justice is not sold for anyone and justice cannot be modified for anyone. “If one day you start working as a judge, you should know that there is no favor for each other, because justice will be harmed,” Radoniqi said.

For two years FOL has been organizing such conversations with students and prosecutors of the court in Pristina, and now it has started to hold these conversations in other cities as well.

This grant is funded by the Democratic Society Promotion (DSP) project – funded by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO-K) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA) and managed by the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation. Civil Society Foundation – KCSF.

Ferizaj, 13 November 2017 – Representatives of FOL Movement met today with Mr. Basim Hyseni, President of the Basic Court in Ferizaj. During this meeting were discussed about the work and working conditions in this court as well as on cases of corruption.

The President of the Court Mr. Hyseni said that the Basic Court of Ferizaj has 30 active judges as well as five new judges who from January begin to take up proceedings from this court. “The Basic Court of Ferizaj stands very well in anti-corruption cases, where in the last three months of this year has entered only 6 cases of this nature,” he said.

According to him, Basic Court of Ferizaj has statistical officials, while regarding the terms of work this court will soon be transferred to a new facility, which was funded by the Kosovo Judicial Council.

This grant is funded by the Democratic Society Promotion (DSP) project – funded by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO-K) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA) and managed by the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation. Civil Society Foundation – KCSF.

P

Peja, 10 November 2017 – Representatives of Movement FOL met with Mr. Agim Kurmehaj, Chairman of the Basic Prosecution in Peja. During this meeting were discussed about the work of the Basic Prosecution of Peja, in particular on anti-corruption cases. Peja Prosecution, according to him, stands very well with these cases, because since taking office in January this year, these cases were a priority. “If we compare the number of these cases with the other Basic Prosecution Offices we go out better than all,” said Kurmehaj. He said that since taking office as Chief Prosecutor of Peja, his work has been based on two main pillars; Administration Reform and inter-institutional cooperation, in particular with KEK and the Police. He said that in the Basic Prosecution of Peja there are 25 interns who are assisting in the reduction of cases that have remained since 2009. Mr.Kurmehaj said that the challenge during his mandate will have the professionalism of prosecutors in certain areas, reduction anti-corruption cases, increasing the number of prosecutors and finding experts in particular on Procurement expertise. Otherwise, the Basic Prosecution of Peja even though it has established the Statistics Office, there are still no officials dealing with collecting statistics in the Prosecutor’s Office.

This grant is funded by the Democratic Society Promotion (DSP) project – funded by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO-K) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA) and managed by the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation. Civil Society Foundation – KCSF.

Prishtina, 7 November 2017 – Lëvizja FOL under the project “Legal Reform Against Corruption” has organized a discussion on the Law on Protection of Informants in Kosovo. Panelists in this discussion were: Ombudsman Mr.Hilmi Jashari, Chairwoman of the Committee on Legislation Mrs. Albulena Haxhiu, Director of the Department for Prevention of Corruption at AKK, Mr.Afrim Atashi.

Gresa Smolica from Lëvizja FOL, presented the findings and recommendations of FOL’s report on the current Law on the Protection of Informers. “From the report of Lëvizja FOL regarding the Law on Protection of Informers, it is noticed the need for the protection of the signalizers, as persons who discover the abuses at their workplace. Considering a rather complicated process, signalers should be offered legal protection to avoid cases of retaliation or discrimination because of the information they have disclosed, Smolica said, adding that based on the recommendations of the Council of Europe, FOL has seen it necessary the involvement of the Ombudsman and the Anti-Corruption Agency in the process of defining their status.

The Chairwoman of the Committee on Legislation, Albulena Haxhiu, said that there is a great need for this law to be amended, because the current law has many gaps. “The law has contradictions between the articles. I think that it is better to address this report to the Legislation Committee as it is very valuable and as such it can be processed as a bill, because it can take more time through the ministry, “Haxhiu said, by adding that in many institutions the employees have not even heard of this Law.

The Ombutsperson, Mr. Hilmi Jashari, stated that the Law on the Protection of Informers is in conflict and there is much cohesion with other laws such as the Law on Civil Servants. “Harmonization of all laws needs to be done or codification of justice,” Jashari said.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Department for Prevention of Corruption at the Anti-Corruption Agency, Mr.Afrim Atashi, said that the current law has very few articles but those that are not being implemented. “It is impossible that with the legal basis that AKM has and with its capacities to have the burden to receive information from informants,” Atashi said.

Murat Mehmeti, investigator at TAK, explained why he decided to signal abuse of TAK and the challenges he faced in the workplace.

Among the other recommendations presented in this report here is included the change of the name of the law, namely the Law on Protection of Signatories, the definition of the status of the signalers and the validity of the legal protection for signaling for the benefit of the public interest and the definition of a 3-stage process signaling including internal signalization, signaling to the Ombudsperson Institution and the Anti-Corruption Agency as well as external signaling.

Prishtina, 7 November 2017 – Lëvizja FOL has published An analysis of the Law on the Protection of Informants in Kosovo. This document analyzes the legal framework for signal protection in Kosovo and signaling as a phenomenon that helps combat corruption.

03 NOV 2017

With the invitation of the McCain Institute, yesterday in Washington, FOL Director Petrit Zogaj held a presentation with a special focus on the political developments in the country, its governance and its problems with anti-corruption policies and the level of human rights.

Present at this discussion were, leaders of the McCain Institute, representatives from the State Department and a group of students.

Prishtina, 3 November 2017 – Lëvizja FOL held today the next conversation where the invited was the Ombudsman, Mr. Hilmi Jashari. The topic of this conversation was the Integrity of the Judiciary.

The audience in this discussion were students from Public and Private Universities.

This conversation is supported by the Dutch Embassy in Prishtina within the project ‘Promoting Integrity in the Judiciary Sector’.

Prishtina, 31 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL has published the report: “Publik Procurement Monitoring in Kosovo Increasing Institutional Accountability in Spending Pubic Money. This report presents the findings from the quarterly monitoring of large value contracts from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. 

Prishtina, 31 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL has published today the report Social Dialogue_Role and Mandate of the Social Economic Council

Prishtina, 31 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL today has held an open discussion on the topic “Social Dialogue: How to Involve Youth in Dialogue and what has KES done in this regard”. Panelists in this discussion were: Brikena Hoxha from the Kosovo Stability Initiative, Fjolla Bajraktari, Innovation Lab Kosovo / PEN and Rashit Mehmeti from the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo (BSPK).

Gersi Gashi from Movement FOL presented the findings of the report “Social Dialogue in Kosovo: The role of CES and the involvement of youth in dialogue”. Gashi said that this policy paper is divided into several parts where they have been analyzed: the legislation and consequently the mandate of the Economic and Social Council in Kosovo (KES), the work and achievements of the KES since its establishment, the comparison of KES with other countries and recommendations to increase the impact of KES. “Social dialogue is a very important process for the proper functioning of the state and for a democratic governance system. In Kosovo, as a term, but also in politics, social dialogue is not well-known to the general public. ESC in Kosovo has the role of pushing ahead of social dialogue. As a mechanism that brings together representatives of employers, employees, and the Government, it is clear that the ESC has a duty to ensure inclusiveness in dialogue, raising awareness of social dialogue and encouraging the entire society to be part of it, including here also youth, “said Gashi.

Brikena Hoxha from Kosovo Initiative said that even after nine years of independence, Kosovo remains a country with great poverty and unemployment. “Since 2009, progress reports have highlighted the need to improve legislation in the social field. The term modern slavery is the best description of the situation of workers in the private sector, and especially in small businesses, “said Hoxha, adding that only in 2017 there are 15 deaths in the workplace, most of them in the construction sector. She said the challenge remains the non-implementation of the collective contract, especially in the private sector. “I think Kosovo must take three measures to increase employment: Increased commitment of youth to the Syndicate, state support with StartUps grants and compilation of practices that add to the engagement of young people,” said Hoxha.

Rashit Mehmeti from the Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo (BSPK) said that by 2011 members of KES did not receive compensation and this could have had an impact on the fact that ESC was not very effective. “The minimum wage has been many times in the agenda where we asked for it to be 220-250 €, but this does not suit business representatives,” said Mehmeti. Moreover, he added that youth involvement is now the target of BSPK, and internal reforms are underway that will push this forward.

Fjolla Bajraktari, from Innovation Lab Kosovo / PEN, said that the education system in Kosovo itself does not promote educational debate in schools and so young people are not ready to debate. “We have held workshops every three months in the villages of Kosovo municipalities, where at first there was hesitation of young people to participate and sometimes there was also hesitation of decision-makers to cooperate,” Bajraktari. But most of the cases have turned out to be stories of success, and it has been seen that there is a desire for young people to engage in greater involvement, especially in decision-making, Bajraktari added.

This activity was supported by Enhancing Youth Employment – EYE Project – project of the Swiss Cooperation Office and implemented by Helvetas Swiss Cooperation and MDA.

 

Prishtina, 26 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL has held today a conversation with mr. Zef Prendrecaj, Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor. The topic of this conversation was: “Integrity in the judiciary / prosecution as a condition for gaining public trust”.

The lecture was held at the Center for Education and Anti-Corruption (AEC) in the Lëvizja FOL, where the audience of this lecture were students from Public and Private Universities.

This conversation was supported by the Dutch Embassy in Prishtina within the project “Promoting Integrity in the Judiciary Sector”.

Prishtina, 23 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL held today a conversation with former Supreme Court President, Fejzullah Hasani. The topic of this conversation was the integrity of the judiciary in Kosovo.

The lecture was held at the Center for Education and Anti-Corruption (AEC) in the Lëvizja FOL, where the audience of this lecture were students from Public and Private Universities.

This conversation was supported by the Dutch Embassy in Prishtina within the project “Promoting Integrity in the Judiciary Sector”.

Prishtina, 20 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL today has held a conversation with the judge of the General Department-Civil Division at the Court of Appeal, Albert Zogaj.

During this lecture was discussed about the mechanisms of the integrity of the justice system as well as the Code of Ethics of Judges, in particular the Court of Appeals.

The lecture was held at the Center for Education and Anti-Corruption (AEC) in the Lëvizja FOL, where the audience of this lecture were students from Public and Private Universities.

Lëvizja FOL has started a series of lectures / conversations with the Court and various Prosecutors.

This conversation was supported by the Dutch Embassy in Prishtina within the project “Promoting Integrity in the Judiciary Sector”.

 

Prishtinë, 18 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL has published the report “Municipalities & Their role in youth employment”. This policy brief aims at reminding the general public that municipalities have a direct role in developing the economy and generating jobs through local policy choices and strategies that are within the legal competences of municipalities.

Gjakova, 18 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL has hold today FOL Hapur with the candidates for mayor of Gjakova, where was also published the analysis “Municipalities & Their role in youth employment”.

Jeton Zulfaj from the Lëvizja FOL said that FOL is holding a debate with candidates for mayor of Gjakova regarding the municipality’s influence on development and employment. He said that the research conducted by FOL results that municipalities can develop strategies and policies through subsidies and grants, tax incentives, and other policies to directly affect employment and economic development. “Municipalities can and should work on economic development plans and strategies, as they are responsible for licensing business activities, applying taxes and payments, providing infrastructure and basic education, and adopting regulations that affect economic development and the creation of jobs – said Mr. Zulfaj.

Mimoza Kusari-Lila, the candidate from Alternativa for mayor of Gjakova / Djakovica, said that the municipality of Gjakova has developed projects that have had direct impact on employment such as the grant scheme, the completion of dairy farm in Reka e keqe, assistance for the NGO “Thirrjet e Nënave” and “Shtëpia e Sigurt”. Municipality of Gjakova has received support from USAID’s project for transparency and accountability. The GIZ project has enabled the municipality to empower youth through a fair where there were 800 new jobs, and about 300 has contacted directly the companies. We have also received professional training and information from employers and jobseekers. “Qendra Bone Vet, the innovation center in Gjakova are just some of the steps taken in the service of innovation,” said Kusari-Lila, adding that with their program they plan to continue the grant scheme and create joint working spaces.

Fazli Hoxha from NISMA for Kosovo said that the Initiative as part of its program has the empowerment of young people. “Since there has so far been no room for developing a public-private partnership, we will be assured of increasing this potential. Grant allocation will be done equally, cooperating with businesses operating in Gjakova, and companies that will benefit will have the workforce from Gjakova, “said Hoxha.

Edmond Dushi from Aleanca Kosova e Re stressed that their work will be on raising awareness to young people’s to attend vocational schools. “It will be offered one-year practice for all new graduates in order to be the same as those who have had work experience, so the competition to be equal,” said Dushi, who promises that if he wins these elections he will open Center youth.

Bekim Ermeni from the Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës said that if he comes to the head of the municipality of Gjakova, he will work to reduce the youth unemployment rate by promoting the professional training of young people, reducing informal employment or formalizing business.

Ardian Gjini from Aleanca për Ardhmërinë e Kosovës, said that it should be governed by the concept of budget investment rather than spending on it. Young people will be encouraged to innovate. “There will be work on granting scholarships for deficit directions so that students return to work in Gjakova,” Gjini said.

This activity was supported by Enhancing Youth Employment – EYE Project – project of the Swiss Cooperation Office and implemented by Helvetas Swiss Cooperation and MDA.

Mitrovica, 18 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL today has hels FOL Hapur with the candidates for the mayor for the municipality of South Mitrovica, where the analysis “Municipalities and their role in employment” was published.

Jeton Zulfaj from FOL emphasized that there is an approach and perception that the role of municipalities is poor in economic development and employment. This approach and this perception can be best seen at this time of elections where no one wants to ask the candidates if they have any plans on how to boost economic development and create jobs, “said Zulfaj. According to him, Municipalities can and should work on economic development plans and strategies, because they are responsible for licensing business activities, applying taxes and payments, providing infrastructure and basic education, and adopting regulations that affect economic development and job creation.

Qazim Shala, NISMA candidate for Kosovo, said capacity building and economic development should go hand in hand. “We have German associations training the cadres, but we do not know that these cadres are being trained to work in Kosovo or Germany,” said Shala. In the absence of this information we do not know the effect of the implemented policies.

Valdete Idrizi, candidate from Partia Demokratike e Kosovës, stated that young people should be stimulated as much as possible in order to be more active. “To promote vocational schools and to break the negative perceptions of these schools,” she said. The promotion of vocational schools would help in the development of young people and would thus create great opportunities for their employment. According to her, volunteering and practical work can be done in cooperation with the municipality where the municipality would pay for 1 year the practical work of the youth.

Fehmi Ferati candidate from Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE, said the city lacks a market where products can be sold. While there are no opportunities to practice, youth remains inexperienced, and thus makes it more difficult to get involved in the labor market. “Young people should be prepared for the labor market by practicing at least six months, as is the case in America,” Ferati said. Creating merit-based systems and policies would increase confidence in institutions and, consequently, youth employment. “Young people have mostly harmed politics, especially when there is a lack of meritocracy as a criterion for employment.

Nystret Preteni, the candidate of the FJALA Party, said that Mitrovica’s youth should be prepared for the domestic market rather than for the international market. “We will create access to employment, and education so our young people will not deviate” – said Preteni.

This activity was supported by Enhancing Youth Employment – EYE Project – project of the Swiss Cooperation Office and implemented by Helvetas Swiss Cooperation and MDA.

Prishtina, 17 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL held today the discussion with the Minister of Justice, Abelard Tahiri, where was discussed about the mechanisms of integrity of the justice system and legal reforms in the fight against corruption, including the law on the Anti-Corruption Agency and the law on the Protection of Informers. Also was discussed the future of the disciplinary prosecutor’s office.

The lecture was held at the Center for Education and Anti-Corruption (AEC) at Lëvizja FOL, where the audience of this lecture were students from Public and Private Universities.

Movement FOL soon begins the series of lectures / conversations with the Court and various Prosecutors.

This conversation was supported by the Dutch Embassy in Prishtina within the project “Promoting Integrity in the Judiciary Sector”.

Prishtina, 13 October 2017 – Lëvizja FOL, as part of coalition Demokracia në Veprim, has published the report on monitoring of the media during the electoral campaign for the early elections. The detailed report can be found here: Election campaign monitoring report for central elections.

Raporti i monitorimit të fushatës zgjedhore për zgjedhjet qendrore.

 

Peja, 13 October 2017 – Representatives of Lëvizja FOL met today with Mr. Kreshnik Radoniqi, President of the Basic Court in Peja. During this meeting were discussed about the work of the Basic Court of Peja, the large number of cases in this court as well as the working conditions of the judges. “The Peja Court is heavily charged with cases, in particular the Serious Crimes Department, as it is known that the city of Peja faces major crime problems,” Radoniqi said.

At this meeting, representatives of the Movement FOL presented to the Chief Judge the annual statistics of 2016 for corruption cases where the Court of Peja from 53 cases of this nature, only 29 of them has resolved. Meanwhile, in the first six months of this year, Peja had 68 cases out of the corruption offense chapter, and only 26 of them have been completed. According to them Peja has a large number of cases of this nature, which was not contested by Mr. Radoniqi. He said the reason for this large number of these cases is the lack of judges as well as the working conditions in this court. “We still do not have a court spokesperson, as well as we do not have a separate office, which is handled with statistics,” Radoniqi said.

This grant is funded by the Democratic Society Promotion (DSP) project – funded by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO-K) and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA) and managed by the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF).