Dismissal of 20 Serbian Officials: Agim Rexhepi Explains How Parallel Structures Can Be Rooted Out

Fitore Pacolli, Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (MESPI), has announced the termination of the employment contracts of 20 ministry officials from the Serb community. According to her, they have consistently failed to report to their workplaces since 2016.

Pacolli explained that the decision was issued after official records were reviewed and in accordance with the recommendations of the National Audit Office.

Speaking to “Bota sot,” former investigator Agim Rexhepi said the measure should send the message that the way things have operated until now can no longer be tolerated.

He said the era in which certain individuals received salaries without working, while the state of Kosovo tolerated structures that did not serve its institutions, must come to an end. According to Rexhepi, an administration cannot function when, for years, people who do not report to work are paid and their costs are covered by Kosovo citizens’ taxes.

Rexhepi called for this case not to be treated as an isolated one, but to be followed by comprehensive checks across all institutions for similar situations. He stressed that anyone employed as part of the implementation of the agreements who has failed to fulfill their duties or comply with the laws of the Republic of Kosovo must face legal consequences, as the state cannot serve as an ATM for anyone.

According to the former investigator, the origin of the problem lies in the way former members of the so-called “Civil Protection” were integrated into Kosovo’s institutions.

Rexhepi recalled that their inclusion was provided for in dialogue agreements negotiated at different times by Kosovo negotiators Edita Tahiri, Avni Arifi and Skënder Hyseni, with the mediation of the European Union. According to him, the aim of integrating these individuals was not in itself problematic, because it was intended to dismantle parallel structures, but shortcomings emerged during the implementation of the process.

He said political concessions were made without sufficient oversight to determine whether the integrated individuals were genuinely serving the Republic of Kosovo. Rexhepi added that, for years, previous governments treated the dialogue as a formal procedure, accepting compromises without establishing strong oversight mechanisms.

According to him, it was precisely these concessions that enabled certain individuals to receive salaries from Kosovo’s budget even though, in practice, they did not perform the duties for which they had been hired.

In conclusion, Rexhepi emphasized that accountability and enforcement of the law must be the foundations on which the public administration operates, while such cases must not be treated with double standards.

He said that everyone who works for the state of Kosovo must report to their workplace and respect its institutions, as well as the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. Otherwise, according to him, their contract must be terminated without hesitation.

Rexhepi stressed that parallel structures cannot be fought solely through police operations. According to him, this battle must also be waged by removing every unjustifiable case from the public administration, safeguarding public money and demonstrating that the law applies equally to everyone.

Only through this approach, Rexhepi concluded in his comments to “Bota sot,” can a serious state be built—one in which dialogue is not used to legalize privileges, but to strengthen the sovereignty and functionality of the Republic of Kosovo.