US Chief of Mission to dedicate Kamenica Courthouse

New Roof for Secondary School in Shtime

Pristina February 14, 2001 160 members of the Municipal Elections Commission (MEC), representative of political parties and members of indigenous Kosovar non-governmental organizations representing nearly every municipality in Kosovo met February 8,9, and 10 in Pristina to compare lessons learned from the last elections, and to look ahead towards improving policies and procedures in future elections. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the OSCE's Elections Department provided assistance to the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) to present the working conference.

Beyond the technical and procedural challenges that were inherent in Kosovo's first province-wide elections, conference participants also examined societal obstacles to universal participation in the democratic process. Participants sought solutions on how to increase voter turnout in ethnic minority enclaves, how to "Kosovarize" the elections process so that the institutional frameworks continue without the assistance of the international community, how to retain the independence of the MECs, and how to increase women's participation as candidates and to retain women officials after they are elected. The conference served to give those associated with administering Kosovo's elections a better understanding of international elections standards and a clearer picture of where improvements are needed, so they can work together to build an ever more democratic future for Kosovo .

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Pristina, May 4, 2001 Judges Association of Kosovo will formally convene on May 11 2001 at 9:00 am in the Auditorium of the UN Building in Pristina. USAID was engaged in establishing Kosovo's Judges Association through its Rule of Law program implemented by American Bar Association for Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI) who worked towards helping Kosovo's judges establishing their own association. The nascent association, the first of its kind in Kosovo, will also act to promote support for reforms in the judicial sector, and to protect the common interests of judges, including promoting their level of professionalism through increased training.

The association will speak on behalf of Kosovo's judges on matters such as the appointment, discipline, and dismissal of judges, and on issues of judicial administration. It will be open to all judges of Kosovo, regardless of ethnicity and its founders too measures to ensure that the association be and remain transparent and democratic in all its operations. Also ABA/CEELI brought together judges in all five judicial districts of Kosovo to vet the draft statute extensively, and the entire process was the first exercise of its kind in Kosovo.

On June 8 , as part of efforts to strengthen Kosovo's water and electric distribution systems as an engine for economic growth USAID/Kosovo inaugurated the beginning of the training program for utility managers. The ceremony marked the kick off 15 month of training for the Kosovo Electric Corporation (KEK) distribution agency and water utility service providers. The first course, four days of supervisory skills training for KEK managers, is the first part of a series of overall management education courses designed to teach utility managers more efficient and customer-service oriented ways of doing business. The trainings will result in the utilities' improved financial and operational management. USAID is complementing the training by providing computer hardware and software for improved billing and collections.

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On June 14 , USAID will sponsor an all-day seminar hosted by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) that will explore the future of agriculture in Kosovo. USAID's supports IFDC to help build a vibrant, sustainable, private-sector led agriculture sector in Kosovo. The goal of the seminar is to help stimulate dialogue among political and agricultural leaders in attendance to create a strategy and support for an ecologically and environmentally-sustainable agricultural sector that will generate employment, provide for a more efficient use of natural resources, increase profitability at the farm level, develop domestic processing industries, and raise the tax base of Kosovo.

Up to date with USAID's support, IFDC has already established an alliance of agribusiness trade associations that will become a major advocate for agriculture and agribusiness in Kosovo; has strengthened three trade associations with a combined membership of 440 people in the agricultural inputs, poultry, and feed and milling sectors; and has facilitated an ongoing policy dialogue between the agribusiness trade associations and UNMIK to achieve improved rationale in tariff and taxation issues for agribusiness.

On July 10, 2001 , USAID's Community Infrastructure and Services Program dedicated a New Roof for the secondary school building in Shtime town. The Shtime community identified the school's roof as being a top priority among their infrastructure rehabilitation needs. The school itself is 13 years old and serves to 1,300 students. The roof sustained damage during the conflict, it had begun to leak and the school board expressed concern that the entire ceiling of the school was in danger of collapse if the roof weren't repaired. USAID's support consisted of building stronger support for the roof, replace the existing corrugated steel sheets that make it up as well as moving the slope for 30 degrees all this work required a total of US$45,115 invested in the material and part of the labor on the roof.

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November 11, 2001- When the United States Agency for International Development, Mission in Kosovo sought a venue to implement its court administration reform program, it selected Kamenica/Kosovska Kamenica municipality, where the community of 70% Kosovar Albanian and 30% Kosovar Serb live in peace with each other. " The people of Kamenica have shown that they are interested in moving forward, together, peacefully, and that they are interested in working with international community towards the common future with the framework of the rule of law" said Craig Buck, Director of USAID's Mission for Kosovo.

"Rehabilitating the courthouse complements USAID's existing investment in Kamenica as a viable multi-ethnic municipality." The courthouse building was very old and insufficient for the needs of a municipality that Kamenica/Kosovska Kamenica had grown in. Through its Community Infrastructure Services Program USAID has invested US$367,647 to construct the new courthouse reaching the total of US $874,332 invested in this multi-ethnic municipality.

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November 13, 2001 . In the last week of October 2001, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) -financed by USAID conducted a poll of 1,568 Kosovars including ethnic Albanian, Serbs, Montenegrins, Turks, Bosniaks and other ethnic groups. The object of the poll was to survey public opinion of the campaign for the Assembly of Kosovo, test civic awareness of new institutions resulting from the elections, and determine levels of confidence in existing institutions. While the economy dominates public concern with 44% of ethnic Albanians citing this as their primary concern. The political status of Kosovo is second in the minds of Albanian Kosovar voters (25%) and security is third (7.8%). Among the ethnic Serb community, the political status of Kosovo is the primary concern (43.5%) followed by security (15%) and the economy (10.4%). Poll data further show that over half of Albanian Kosovars believe Serbian Kosovars should take part in this election (54%). There is also strong support for having women in the parliament: over half of the electorate (54.6%) believes women should hold at least 30% of the seats in the Assembly. The majority of the electorate (51% of ethnic Albanians, 32.7% of ethnic Serbs) correctly identified the primary responsibility of the Kosovar Assembly, to represent the people and make laws.

However, 72% of Albanian Kosovars and 44.1% of Serbian Kosovars believe incorrectly that Kosovo's President will oversee and monitor the work of municipalities. Sixty percent of ethnic Albanian respondents and 31% of ethnic Serbian respondents incorrectly believe that the President will have the power to conduct foreign affairs independently. Poll data show confidence in legal and political institutions, particularly at the municipal level among Kosovar Albanians. "This poll shows that the people of Kosovo share common concerns and interest and they want to move forward with the future Assembly of Kosovo, but will need greater support to engage with political leaders and Assembly members. We are interested in continuing to work with citizens of Kosovo toward their common future within the framework of fair political process and the rule of law," said Craig Buck, Director of USAID's Mission for Kosovo.

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November 21, 2001 . In its effort to support employment growth, restart businesses, and stimulate economic activity in Kosovo, USAID inaugurated the opening of a full-service commercial bank, the American Bank of Kosovo. The American Bank of Kosovo will provide a full range of banking services including deposits, and international and domestic payments services. The bank has been established as part of USAID's Kosovo Business Finance Project, which has been providing credit to Kosovo's private small and medium enterprises (SME) since June 2001. The target enterprises are manufacturing and high-value-added service industries that use the credits to expand productive capacity and employment.

This SME lending activity will be integrated into the American Bank of Kosovo in the near future. The American Bank of Kosovo plans to develop and maintain a proactive SME lending program as a core focus of its banking activities.