On February 28, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS), GAP Institute and the Institute for Development Policy (INDEP), organized the Second Annual CorrWatch Conference titled: “Increasing Public Oversight and Accountability of Public Institutions in Kosovo”. At the beginning of the event, CorrWatch revealed main findings from the annual monitoring conducted across all five components: recruitment, public procurement practices and contract management, c. distribution of grants and subsidies, issuance of permits, licenses and tariffs and performance of Publicly-Owned Enterprises (POEs).

The Annual Conference was opened with a welcoming speech delivered by Mr. Paul O’Connor, Charge d’Affairs at the British Embassy in Kosovo, who acknowledged CorrWatch’s impact throughout the year. In addition, he noted the importance of empowering civil society in strengthening transparency and combatting corruption. “Corruption hinders the progress of the rule of law, hinders economic development, and reduces the well-being of citizens. Accountability, transparency and good governance can only be achieved through close cooperation with civil society, the media and citizens.”, he added.

The conference continued with four thematic panels during the day. The first panel discussed the challenges and practices of public procurement in Kosovo. The second panel focused on reducing administrative burdens through the digitization of permits and subsidies. In addition, the third panel focused on the impact of job position systematization on the performance of public enterprises. The fourth and final panel addressed the new Draftlaw on Public Officials regarding recruitment in terms of performance and meritocracy.

Gathering more than 100 participants, the Second Annual Conference provided a valuable platform for institutional stakeholders, civil society members, and experts to reflect on lessons learned and chart a path forward towards bolstering institutional transparency and accountability across these vital sectors.

This event took was organized within the framework of the project titled: “Increasing Public Oversight and Accountability of Public Institutions in Kosovo”, supported by the British Embassy in Kosovo.

Venue: Hotel Swiss Diamond, Prishtina, Kosovo