Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PRISTINA621
2007-08-13 15:54:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

KOSOVO: AUDITOR'S REPORT ON ASSEMBLY SEES IMPROVED

Tags:  PGOV EAID KDEM UNMIK YI KV 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHPS #0621/01 2251554
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131554Z AUG 07
FM USOFFICE PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7611
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1252
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHFMIUU/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT
RHMFISS/CDR TF FALCON
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPGEA/CDR650THMIGP SHAPE BE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUFOANA/USNIC PRISTINA SR
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000621 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR
DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EAID KDEM UNMIK YI KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: AUDITOR'S REPORT ON ASSEMBLY SEES IMPROVED
SITUATION IN 2006

REF: 06 PRISTINA 561

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000621

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DRL, INL, AND EUR/SCE, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR
DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EAID KDEM UNMIK YI KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: AUDITOR'S REPORT ON ASSEMBLY SEES IMPROVED
SITUATION IN 2006

REF: 06 PRISTINA 561


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Kosovo Assembly has shifted from lavish
misuse of government funds in 2005 to less glaring weaknesses
in procedural controls in 2006, according to an independent
audit released August 9. Although the Auditor General was
not satisfied with the Assembly's fiscal management in 2006,
this year the Assembly's Secretary General has addressed
several of the main criticisms in the audit. Even so, press
coverage of the new report was critical of Assembly Speaker
Kole Berisha, who was unable to turn the report's relative
good news to his and the Assembly's advantage. We will
continue to encourage the Assembly to bring itself into
compliance with international standards and await the action
plan the Assembly must submit to the Office of the Auditor
General (OAG) within 30 days. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The 2005 audit of the Kosovo Assembly uncovered
large-scale fiscal malfeasance under former Speaker Nexhat
Daci (reftel). In March 2006, Kole Berisha took over as
Speaker and committed himself to instituting reforms and
cleaning house. The 2006 audit, while not without problems,
shows that Berisha's efforts have made a difference. Where
the 2005 report found thousands of Euros misspent on
expensive personal effects and an armored vehicle that never
materialized, a representative complaint from the 2006 report
notes that an order for office furniture arrived late.


3. (SBU) Despite the contrast between the 2005 and 2006
reports, the OAG was not impressed with the Assembly's recent
performance. The 2006 audit notes the lack of an internal
audit unit, several irregular spending issues (pre-Berisha),
weaknesses in Assembly accounting and record-keeping, use of
single-source procurement, and the need for a certification
officer. In conversations with USOP, Auditor General Linda
Casella, an international, lamented that capacity for
accounting and auditing is very low in Kosovo. (NOTE: No
higher education institution in Kosovo, public or private,
has any faculty teaching public finance or accounting. The
only auditor training available in Kosovo is provided by the
Society of Certified Accountants and Auditors in Kosovo
(SCAAK),supported by the OAG. END NOTE.) Casella
recommended that if the Assembly finds someone to fill the
internal auditor position, that person should attend the
SCAAK training program. She also recommended that the
Assembly develop an administrative procedural handbook to
organize its work in compliance with Kosovo law and
international standards.


4. (SBU) The Assembly, under the guidance of Secretary
General Ismet Krasniqi, is well on its way to rectifying
problems cited in the report. A certification officer was
appointed, and an internal auditor was hired and is currently
in SCAAK training. No spending irregularities were found
from after March 2006 when Berisha became Speaker. Krasniqi
told us he is putting together a procedural handbook based on
the public procurement law. The Reform Party (ORA) member of
the Assembly Presidency has told us of ongoing efforts to
procure more sophisticated accounting software and ensure its
use. (NOTE: Although the Presidency often assumes an
unhelpful policy role, its true mandate is to oversee the
administrative management of the Assembly. END NOTE.) The
Assembly must present an action plan to the OAG within 30
days; Krasniqi assured us he has already begun work on it.


5. (SBU) An unfortunate side-note this week has been the
harsh media response to the report. One headline read "You
too, Kole?" comparing Speaker Berisha with Daci despite the
significant improvements. Berisha's office was caught
off-guard by the report's publication and only managed to
issue a statement, which received limited media coverage,
stressing that the report did not find any financial abuses.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: We are satisfied that Assembly management
is on the right track. Although more needs to be done, given
the depth of corruption only 18 months ago and the dearth of

PRISTINA 00000621 002 OF 002


procedural controls in institutions Kosovo-wide, there has
been steady progress made since Daci's departure. Although
it is not unusual for Kosovo press to inaccurately or
unfairly cover events, a better media strategy by Speaker
Berisha could have turned this report into a political win in
the eyes of Kosovars - something both he and the Assembly
badly need. It in unfortunate that Berisha was attacked when
he has made such substantial progress. We will continue to
encourage the Assembly to bring itself into compliance with
international standards and to support its reform efforts.
LASKARIS