Civil administration
Interim Administration Council allocates
administrative departments to political parties: The Interim Administration
Council today allocated seven out of 19 proposed administrative departments
to political parties which will co-head them with officials of the UN Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), as part of a joint interim administration.
The Kosovo Democratic League (LDK), represented on the Council by its president
Ibrahim Rugova, will co-head the two departments of Budget & Finance
and Justice. The Democratic Progress Party of Kosovo (PPDK), led by Council
member Hashim Thaci, will co--head Local government and Trade & Industry.
The United Democratic League (LBD), represented on the Council by Rexhep
Qosja, will co-head Education & Science and Reconstruction. The Department
of Democratization & Civil Society will go to an independent, while
three of the remaining 12 departments will be co-headed by national communities.
The personnel who will head the allocated departments will be named by next week. The first administrative departments will begin work by the end of this month, under the Joint Interim Administrative Structure established on 15 December to run Kosovo until elections are held.
IAC agrees to expand the Kosovo Transitional Council: The Kosovo Interim Administration Council today agreed to expand the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) to include representatives of more political parties, more members of national communities and representatives of civil society. KTC is the highest advisory body to UNMIK and the Joint Interim Administrative Structure.
Kosovo power plant suffers another setback: Last night a fire caused Kosovo's main power plant, Kosovo B, to shut down, UNMIK reported today. Kosovo's two power plants, both of which suffer from years of neglect, have been under repair since November but suffer frequent breakdowns. Major transmission lines are also under repair. "This is an impossible situation to predict," Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner told journalists. Today, Kosovo is distributing some 160 megawatts of electricity, while a minimum of 550 megawatts is needed to maintain normal life. UNMIK is setting up emergency shelters and moving generators to key institutions, Dr Kouchner said.
Children of Kosovo receive gifts from UNESCO: Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, together with a group of children, today accepted a gift of 11 tonnes of toys, sports equipment and educational materials from UNESCO. The materials were purchased by donations made by the people of Paris and collected by Monoprix supermarkets. Three hundred Monoprix supermarkets participated in the collection of money from 42,500 individuals, who earmarked their donations for the children of Kosovo. UNICEF, UNHCR and KFOR, will assist in the distribution of the materials to 4,000 children throughout Kosovo.