Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has presented a project for adequate social housing worth €37 million and covering 21 municipalities. During a press conference, he also spoke about the operation by security institutions in the north and the process of fully opening the Iber Bridge.
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According to Kurti, the project aims to improve living conditions for families in need. He described the initiative as an investment in families’ dignity, equality and social security, stressing that housing should be part of the state’s social policies.
“When a family cannot feel safe, then we as a state must absolutely become a shelter for it. When a family cannot have equal opportunities, then we must ensure suitable housing conditions,” Kurti declared at a joint conference with Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Fitore Pacolli Dalipi and Minister for Labour, Family and the Values of the Liberation War, Andin Hoti.
He said that various measures had been taken during the government’s mandate to help families, particularly those with children and families facing economic difficulties.
“Support for a family is not only a monthly payment; support also means enabling that family to have suitable, safe and dignified housing,” the acting prime minister said.
According to him, the project was drawn up through cooperation between central institutions, municipalities and international partners. The Council of Europe Development Bank has provided €25 million through a loan agreement, while €12 million has been allocated from Kosovo’s budget.
“So we have secured a total fund of €37 million. This is certainly a major investment,” Kurti said.
The project will include 21 municipalities, while hundreds of families are expected to benefit from the planned interventions. Kurti said the work had now moved from the planning and preparation phase to concrete implementation.
Municipalities will have important responsibilities in carrying out the project, including procurement procedures and the selection of beneficiary families.
Kurti meanwhile praised the work of the Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) following the seizure of a large quantity of weapons and ammunition in the north of the country.
Asked by Indeksonline during the press conference, he said that processes to disarm and collect illegal weapons had taken place in Kosovo at various times, but that northern Kosovo presented a particular situation.
“In our Republic, we have had disarmament and the collection of weapons throughout Kosovo, but not in northern Kosovo. Over the past three years, we have had numerous police operations that are effectively taking weapons out of the hands of people who are either criminals or potential criminals,” Kurti declared.
He warned that illegal firearms with long barrels posed a serious threat to public safety.
“Illegal firearms with long barrels are not for good, but only for trouble,” the prime minister said.
Kurti described the latest operation in the north as an important achievement by the security institutions. The searches were carried out by the Kosovo Police in cooperation with the KIA, the Prosecution and other institutions.
According to the Kosovo Police, 45 locations in the Zubin Potok area were searched from August 6 to 17. During these operations, 72 weapons, thousands of rounds of ammunition, grenades, weapons parts, equipment and military uniforms were confiscated.
“This is outstanding work by the Police and the KIA,” Kurti said, praising the institutions’ efforts to uncover and seize illegal weapons in the north.
The importance of the operations has also increased because the arsenal was found in an area where three locations containing mortal remains have been discovered in recent weeks. Authorities have announced that investigations into possible links between the weapons and war crimes cases are continuing.
Regarding the Iber Bridge, Kurti said that Kosovo’s institutions were in constant communication with KFOR concerning its full opening and the transfer of complete control to the Kosovo Police.
He said that later that afternoon he would meet at the Prime Minister’s Office with KFOR Commander General Özkan Ulutaş.
“As for the process of fully opening the bridge, namely placing it entirely under the control of the Kosovo Police, we are in constant communication with KFOR. This afternoon I also have a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office with the KFOR general, namely Commander Özkan Ulutaş,” Kurti declared.
According to him, communication between Kosovo’s institutions and KFOR takes place every day, with the aim of completing the process calmly and without incidents.
“So, whether with the Prime Minister’s Office or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we are in daily communication so that everything proceeds calmly and peacefully,” he said.
Kurti described the continued closure of the Iber Bridge to traffic as nonsensical, particularly following the construction of new bridges in that area.
“We must remember that, after the construction of the new bridges, it has become absurd to keep that bridge closed. The fact that citizens have moved freely across these new bridges and that there have been no incidents or tensions shows that the movement of people and goods, and increasingly greater freedom of movement, is beneficial not only to the economy but also to peace and security,” Kurti declared.
