Procurement remains on paper”: only 170 of 905 activities initiated by June 30

Central institutions implemented their procurement plan for the first six months of 2026 at a low level. According to the INPO report, titled “Procurement That Remains in the Plan,” only 170 of the 905 planned activities had been initiated by June 30.

The findings were presented by Arbër Kabashi, an INPO researcher, during the publication of the report examining the planning and implementation of procurement activities by ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2026.

Kabashi explained that the analysis was based on Form B05, known as the contract notice form, through which most of the activities included in procurement plans are expected to be initiated. He stressed that the monitoring covered only procedures launched during the period from January 1 to June 30, 2026.

According to him, during this period the ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister also carried out other activities, but these were procedures initiated in previous years and were not included in the report’s analysis.

Osman Vishaj of the Public Procurement Regulatory Commission (PPRC) said that planning forms the basis of the entire procurement process. He compared it to the foundation of a building, saying that a weak foundation can cause major problems later on.

Vishaj stated that delays in approving the law and the division of several ministries had created difficulties not only in planning, but also in implementing the procedures. As an example, he mentioned cases in which an institution, including the Ministry of Education and Culture, had launched a procedure that changed during the evaluation phase, while the project and financial resources were transferred to the ministry responsible for Culture and Sport. According to him, these changes had created uncertainty about how the initiated activities should be handled.

Procurement expert Diana Metushi-Krasniqi said that procurement had largely remained in government plans and had not been implemented in practice. She referred to the report titled “Procurement That Remains on Paper.”

Metushi-Krasniqi warned that delays in implementing the plan had consequences beyond the loss of the opportunity to use the budget. According to her, unused funds could no longer be implemented, affecting the reduction of financial circulation in Kosovo’s market, where around one billion circulates.

She stressed that businesses create jobs and pay most of the taxes, meaning that the blocking of a considerable part of the budget indirectly harms the state and governance as well, through reduced tax revenues.

According to the expert, failure to implement the procurement plan also weakens the performance of institutions, which are left without the necessary resources to fulfill their duties, plans and public promises regarding infrastructure and improved well-being. This, she said, also contributes to lower public trust in institutions.