UNDP report says poverty and unemployment threaten security in Kosovo and a large percentage of citizens are willing to protest for economic reasons.
PRISHTINA, Nov. 25 – The majority of Kosovo’s citizens say they are being affected directly by the global economic crisis, and they are anxious about unemployment, poverty and rising prices, according to the Early Warning Report published by UNDP.
Although most respondents think that global crisis is affecting them, about 72 percent of Kosovars who have bank account trust the banks operating in Kosovo. Only a minority said they withdrew their money from banks during the crisis.
The report also said that poverty and unemployment threaten security in Kosovo and that a large percentage of citizens are willing to protest for economic and political reasons.
Economic experts in Kosovo have warned that political leaders at the local and central levels should take into account the socio-economic level of the citizens as they set priorities for their work.
They say government institutions as a whole must change policies to promoting domestic and foreign investments by improving fiscal policies as well as monetary and economic relations.
This, they say, will increase economic livelihood and job generation, and through it, the growth of employment and poverty reduction that would lead to improving lives.
The Early Warning Report cites a April 2009 poll results showing unemployment to be the paramount problem that Kosovo faces, followed by poverty and lack of electricity supply.
Regardless of ethnicity, the majority of respondents think that their family income has decreased compared to one year ago.
