Expenditures of the Government of Kosovo in per diems for official travel in 2019

A large number of political officials in the public sector in Kosovo make official trips, inside and outside the country, for which they receive per diems. The role of per diems is to enable public sector employees to participate in important state seminars, workshops, trainings and meetings. Although there is no limit to how much money can a public official receive, as this depends on the number of trips and days spent in a given country, it is important to analyze how much the budget is spent on per diems and who are the biggest spenders.

In June 2018, the Ministry of Finance approved the decision to change the daily per diems to match the living standard in the country in which you travel, however still based onthe 2004 administrative instruction. In a GAP Institute study on the practices of public institutions regarding official travel, a survey was conducted with 596 civil servants, with the findings showing that over two thirds of civil servants do not agree that the current per diem rates are at the right level and around 56% thinking that the amount allocated for full per diems does not cover travel expenses.

In addition to the living costs, per diems are also paid depending on the expenses covered to the officials by the host party. If the host party covers all necessary expenses, also covering other smaller expenses, officials do not receive cash from the state budget. Whereas, if expenses for accommodation, food and other smaller expenses are completely covered by the host party, without no cash allowance, officials receive 20% of the daily expenses from the state budget. If the food expenses are partially covered by the host party, the calculation changes as follows:

• If the host party only covers breakfast, other meals (lunch and dinner) or 85% of the cost, is covered by the state budget.
• If the host party covers breakfast and lunch, the state budget only covers dinner, or 55% of food expenses.
• If the host party covers breakfast and dinner, lunch, or 40% of food expenses, is covered by the state budget.
• If the host party covers all food expenses, the budget organization covers 20% of the daily expenses.

Accommodation costs must be justified with relevant invoices and if these costs are lower than the defined fee for accommodation, the difference must be refunded. However, to close the cash advance, officials must provide invoices and receipts.

According to the Financial Report of the Ministry of Finance, in 2019, 3.8 million Euro were spent from the Kosovo budget in per diems of official trips inside and outside the country, or 706 thousand Euro (19%) less than in the previous year.

Figure 1: Official travel per diems inside and outside the country

Source: GAP Institute, based on the data received from relevant institutions

GAP Institute, in line with the Law on Access to Public Documents, requested data on per diem expenditures of political staff for 2019 from the Office of the Prime Minister and all ministries. Our request for per diems was answered by a total of 17 ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister, of which the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Communities and Returns, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare provided data on Ministry cabinets without breaking down expenses of officials per month. The Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Diaspora have not provided access to such data, in violation of the Law on Access to Public Documents.

The data of the 17 ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister, for 2019, indicate that around 204,541 Euro spent per day. The Office of the Prime Minister ranks first, with over 70 thousand Euro spent, followed by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning with over 37 thousand Euro spent per day.

Figure 2: Expenditures of the Office of the Prime Minister and cabinets of ministries in per diems in 2019

Source: GAP Institute, based on the data received from relevant institutions

According to the received data, Fatmir Matoshi, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, leads in terms of per diems received, with 5,446 Euros. Ekrem Mustafa, Minister of Internal Affairs, ranks second, with 3,922 Euro received in per diems.

Figure 3: Expenditures of the Prime Minister and Ministers 2019

Source: GAP Institute, based on the data received from relevant institutions

Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj received 2,564 thousand Euro in per diems, followed by Fatmir Limaj with 2,019 Euro. The Deputy Minister of European Integration, Lirak Çelaj, received the highest amount of per diems, with over three thousand Euro. He is followed by Abdyl Selami Shkodra, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, with 263 Euro less.

Figure 4:  Expenses of Deputy Prime Ministers 2019

Source: GAP Institute, based on the data received from relevant institutions

Figure 5:  Expenses of Deputy Ministers 2019

Source: GAP Institute, based data received from relevant institutions

In terms of managerial positions, political advisors spent over 84 thousand Euro in per diems for travel inside and outside the country, followed by ministers with over 24 thousand Euro, deputy ministers with over 23 thousand Euro, chiefs of cabinet with over six thousand Euro, deputy prime ministers with four thousand Euro, and the Prime Minister over three thousand Euro. On average, per diem expenses per minister amounted to around 1430 Euro, per advisor at about 1000 Euro, per deputy minister around 815 Euro, and per chief of staff at around 795 Euro.

6: Per diem expenses in 2019 based on positions

Source: GAP Institute, based on the data received from relevant institutions

7: Average expenses per official by position 2019

Source: GAP Institute, based on the data received from relevant institutions

Here you can find infographic presentation of per diem expenditures for the Office of the Prime Minister and 17 ministries in 2019 and the individual expenditures for all officials.