|
CONTENTS: 5 Oct. 2001 ILLEGAL PAYMENTS, FAKE CERTIFICATES BUT KOSOVARS ARE IN GOOD
HEALTH
DSRSG Tom Koenigs organized a briefing with heads of departments. In an interview with Koha Ditore, co-heads Hannu Vuori and Pleurat Sejdiu agreed that their working relationship at Department of Health and Social Welfare could serve as an example for other departments. "Considering conditions in Kosovo, I believe that we have had a good team, that has worked hard," said the DSRSG, adding that he had confidence in the leaders of departments he supervises. Although the DSRSG held regular meetings with the co-directors and was briefed about the health situation in Kosovo, the facts presented to him were surprising for him and the two co-leaders. The first example was an invoice for 12 DM issued by the Emergency Centre in Pristina, and paid by a child patient. Sejdiu's initial reaction was that this was only a bill and did not prove anything. According to him, this was "an illegal payment" rather than corruption. Vuori on the other hand said that it would have been illegal if they had given the bill to the child. He added that the first step towards solving injustice was for patients to complain to directors of the hospital. "We are not supposed to take money in emergency cases and I do not believe that doctors do this, although we do not check if they have taken money or not," stressed Sejdiu. As far as Koenigs is concerned, emergency patients are not supposed to pay and Kosovars should be informed about this. Nevertheless, the invoices look official enough to convince people that they have to pay. Sejdiu: millions of DM are necessary to implement the "Master Plan" Sejdiu was appointed temporary Administrator of Pristina University Hospital after Veton Hoxha handed in his resignation due to "accusations of corruption". During this time, Sejdiu compiled a Master Plan, which he considers the basis for the further development of PUH. But according to him, millions will be necessary for the plan to be implemented. Koenigs is optimistic that the problem of bad management and corruption in the health department will be solved once a commission that he set up completes its investigations and assessment. "Many suggestions about the management have been made. We will have to discuss these suggestions down to the smallest details. This requires time, but for now I believe that the Health Department is on the right track," stressed Koenigs, adding that the work of the department was reviewed regularly. As for the corruption, Koenigs stressed that the job of the Central Fiscal Authority (CFA) is to decide if there was corruption. In order to be able to show if corruption is present, Sejdiu has placed boxes all over the hospital. "We found only three complaints in the boxes. The problem is that no one wants to give their evidence to the panel," stressed Sejdiu. He mentioned a case where a patient was willing to testify, but the commission is still waiting for the patient to appear in order to proceed with the procedure. "The investigations are continuing and until I have proof, I cannot suspend anyone," stated Sejdiu. Sejdiu categorically denied that it is possible to promote a doctor
accused of corruption. Nevertheless, such a thing did happen and Sejdiu
was well informed. According to Sejdiu, we should ask the Director of Pristina Clinic, because he is the one who appoints directors. "The panel was not able to contact the person who issued the complaint because all he left was an address of his village. Vuori affirmed that he is willing to accept evidence such as photos of doctors taking money. For Koenigs, institutions that deal with accusations and complaints should be established for this, because he cannot investigate alone. "Specialists" with fake diplomas work at the hospital The paper handed two fake diplomas to the men. "Yes, I know about these cases. Several of my colleagues are complaining about my employing people with fake diplomas," stressed Sejdiu, adding that these people had diplomas issued by the universities they have attended. He added that "the investigations are continuing" "Several weeks ago we began to check all diplomas. No one has the license to work in Kosovo unless his diplomas are not verified." In response to Koha Ditore's comment that there should be a hierarchy to supervise the system, Koenigs said, "true, but this hierarchy has not yet verified all the errors that have taken place. If a doctor is not working properly, we will check his diplomas. He might be the best doctor in the world, but he will not be allowed to work if his documents are not correct." The lack of medicines "There is a lack of essential drugsn and I can say that this is linked to management," said Vuori. According to him, part of the blame lay with the international advisor, whose duty was to train Kosovars in carrying out the procurement. "All of this has taken place because of the department's failures." The DSRSG asked UNOPS (UN Office for Procurement Services) to procure part of the drugs. "I have told UNOPS to procure the drugs and train locals because international can do this temporarily. They will not be here forever to do this job for Kosovars. In the future the Kosovars should correctly and transparently lead the procurement." Is UNMIK incapable of preventing problems in the Health Department? "I know that things are happening that are not supposed to. I am aware of the fact that there is corruption, the patients are buying drugs, which are stashed in pharmacies and depots of hospitals, I am aware of the fact that many doctors are not in their working places after 1400 due to them having their private clinics. I know that supplies have been brought to us, but they have been sold or gone missing," stated the international leader of the Health Department in an interview given previously to the paper. "No, UNMIK is not powerless. But, apparently it is having problems and we should do something to prevent them. One of the things we should do is publish a list of what is legal and what is not, we should address the problems of management, make it more effective, raise the quality of the medical personnel, and pharmacists. Considering all the things that must be done, it is only natural that we cannot achieve all of these immediately. We are still in a stage of development and Vuori rightly said that we cannot say that everything is fine," stressed Koenigs. "Lately we have made a lot of progress. But, we will not be able to improve our work if the patients do not know their rights," stressed Koenigs.
Koha Ditore on page three carried a column by Augustin Palokaj on the Macedonians' stubbornness and determination not to change for the better. "At a time when the international community is combining appeals and pressure for the Macedonian side to fulfill its obligations for changes in Macedonia, resistance exists in the minds of several Macedonian leaders. We thought we saw this mentality for the last time in Milosevic's case, but we are seeing this among the Macedonians and the Taliban leaders. Everything that comes from the outside, these leaders see as evil and dangerous for their population. The acts of Lubco Georgievski and Stojan Andov resemble the acts of the Talibans' spiritual leader Mula Omar Mohamed, he wrote. The Macedonian parliamentarians' way to hold discussions resembles the Islamic clerics of Afghanistan, who come from the mountains only to refuse the requests of the international community and accuse America. There is no other way to compare the Macedonians' resistance to fulfill their part of the agreement, which they accepted, and the accusations they keep directing to the US Special Envoy James Pardew. This is not fair to Pardew, because even during this very difficult time for his own country, he finds the energy to deal with Macedonia because he wants to accomplish what he once began. Apparently, Macedonian officials have forgotten that their state is a candidate for a seat in NATO and European Union. Macedonia has no need to be afraid of NATO bombing it or someone applying sanctions against it. But, Macedonia has to be aware of the fact that its credibility has never been weaker than it is now. We want to recall several characteristics of the crisis in Macedonia. At the beginning NATO and the European Union saw Macedonia not only as a normal state, but an example for other states as well. Therefore foreign representatives believed the words of the Macedonian leaders regarding Albanians. They even started using the same vocabulary. The Albanian rebels were accused at the beginning. Even the agreement of Prizren was condemned. But, things changed later on. The agreement of Prizren was taken as a basis to solve the crisis. The paradox of the international community's approach toward the conflict in Macedonia was that they could not accept the violent ways of the Albanian rebels, but neither could they deny their democratic requests. Now, everything is clear. Several Macedonian leaders made the international community understand that Macedonians are no angels. Macedonia is the last country in the Balkans to understand that the concept of state sovereignty is not the same as it used to be and that the phrase "interfering in internal affairs" is very old fashioned and out of date. The problem is not only that they are damaging their state, but they are also damaging their people, whose houses they destroyed during the bombing. Just before winter, these people will have to rebuild their homes, but they cannot do this by themselves. The European Union is the one to provide the money, and it will do this after a Donor's Conference, which will not take place if Skopje does not change its mentality."
Koha Ditore on page eight carried a report on small political parties
asking OSCE finance them, or else they will not be able to begin the
electoral campaign. "It is OSCE's obligation to finance the small parties, because these are the first Kosovar Parliamentary Elections. The future elections are another story", said Grapci. The other representatives shared his opinion. Several of them said if
the OSCE does not finance them, they will not be able to have a successful
campaign.
"The number of registered Serbs increased from 170,000 to 180,000. Therefore, we are more than just 3% of population. In fact, Albanians are less than they said they are. They are not more than 950,000, less than a million", stressed Covic. According to him, the Serb community in Kosovo consists of 25% of the population. However, this is his second mistake since the international community appointed him Serb representative. His first mistake was his suggestion to break up Kosovo. The second mistake was when he contradicted UNMIK Administrator Hans Haekkerup and the head of the OSCE Daan Everts during the KTC meeting, where Everts said that the figure of 180,000 newly-registered Kosovars includes not only Kosovo Serbs, but also Serbs in Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro. The second aspect has to do with manipulation. The OSCE managed to register less than a million Albanians, and they are not all of citizens in Kosovo. Let us point out that the Albanian population in Kosovo is much younger than the Serb population. But this number does not include the entire population living in Kosovo, or the Kosovars who live abroad. In fact, the number of the Albanian population in Kosovo is something that has always preoccupied the Serbian nationalism. Such a demographic calculation breaks down the Serb nationalist core, which has been turned into the Serb national ideology, which resulted in a tragic catastrophe, massive deportation and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. In any case, OSCE's figures for the population in Kosovo will have consequences after the November elections. The phenomenon to incorrectly count in Kosovo has always brought problems. The OSCE and UNMIK will sooner or later be obliged to give explanations and to once more register Kosovo's population, but this time, correctly. Covic also stressed that the Serb community has not made the final decision regarding their participation in the November elections. "We might make a decision at the end of October", stated Covic. Nonetheless, Covic said that the Serbs, who are supposed to cover "25%" of Kosovo's population and take 1/3 of the places in Kosovo's parliament, did not yet decide whether they will participate in the general elections. Covic also stated that the elections cannot be postponed. Apparently, Covic does not share the same opinion as the Serb Socialist party (SPS), which is to delay the elections until all Serbs have returned to Kosovo. Milosevic's SPS criticized Covic and asked him to publish details of discussions that have taken place during his meeting with UNMIK Administrator Hans Haekkerup. Another polemic with Covic came from his partner from Kosovo, Moma Trajkovic. Trajkovic asked for autonomy for Kosovo Serbs and the division of Kosovo into five units (north-Kosovo, central-Kosovo, Kosovo Anamorava, Shari and Metohija). Trajkovic said again that Serbs cannot participate in the general elections due to the fact that none of their conditions were met. He does not agree with Covic's stance because these two men "have essential and conceptual differences". "I am engaged in the process of integrating Yugoslavia and Serbia, while Covic thinks that Haekkerup's Constitutional Framework is right and guarantees various things for the Serbs", stressed Trajkovic. Due to all of these contradictory positions among Serbs, we can conclude that the Serb debate regarding the elections in Kosovo is getting more complicated by the day. We do understand Covic's patriotic statements regarding Kosovo's demography. But we are not sure if this will help Serbs and the democratization of Kosovo.
|