Nenad Radosavljević, Director of RTV Mir and Director for Sports, Youth, and Culture in the municipality of Leposavić, filed a criminal complaint this week against the Mayor of Leposavić, Lulzim Hetemi. The complaint accuses Hetemi of failing to fulfill his official duties regarding the execution of last year’s municipal budget. According to Radosavljević, this failure caused significant financial harm to the municipality, as the unused budget was ultimately returned to the Kosovo state budget.
In the complaint, which was submitted to our news portal, Radosavljević outlined specific budget figures from the previous year allocated for Leposavić. The total amount, he stated, was €2,515,789.
Of this amount, €203,000 was allocated for administrative needs, while €524,766 was earmarked for the construction of road infrastructure. Additionally, €385,943 was set aside for urban planning and inspection purposes. For the directorate overseen by Radosavljević himself, a sum of €1,402,080 was allocated.
Radosavljević alleges that Hetemi took no action to ensure that the funds were used for their intended purposes, despite repeated warnings from various municipal directors.
„Hetemi did nothing to ensure that these funds, allocated for the October, November, and December 2023 period, were utilized as intended,“ the complaint reads.
„He was repeatedly warned by municipal directors during meetings.“
According to Radosavljević, Hetemi repeatedly provided “false excuses” to delay the use of these funds, resulting in their return to the Kosovo budget.
„There were completed projects awaiting funding. However, by continually making false excuses, Hetemi intentionally delayed the implementation of these budget funds, leading to the return of the allocated amount to the Kosovo budget at the end of the fiscal year. This has caused harm to the citizens of Leposavić by depriving them of vital municipal services and infrastructure improvements,“ the complaint continued.
Radosavljević further stated that there is evidence supporting his allegations, including a graphical representation of the municipal budget and witness testimony.
„There is reasonable suspicion that Lulzim Hetemi committed the criminal offense for which this complaint has been filed. This can be confirmed by the budget scheme, my own testimony, the testimony of proposed witnesses, and the questioning of the accused,“ he wrote, urging authorities to take action.
In a follow-up comment on his Facebook profile, Radosavljević claimed that a similar situation is unfolding this year.
„Just like last year, not a single project has been initiated this year either – not for the benefit of the majority Serbian population, nor for the Albanian, Bosniak, or Roma communities. What is this? Destruction, malice, primitivism, incompetence, or all of the above? Last year’s budget was stolen from the citizens and mostly distributed to wealthier municipalities,“ he wrote.
He further expressed doubt that the situation would improve, accusing central institutions of deliberately allowing the neglect of Leposavić.
„Since higher authorities, like the Ministry of Local Government and the Kosovo Government, have no intention of stopping this crime against the people, despite my appeals to top officials in Pristina, I feel morally obligated to seek justice in court. I hope the courts will find the strength to act and at least hold the illegitimate mayor Lulzim Hetemi criminally accountable for his malicious intent or the other characteristics mentioned earlier,“ he stated.
KoSSev’s attempts to reach Mayor Hetemi for comment were unsuccessful. Calls to his office went unanswered, and an email requesting his response to the allegations had not been replied to by the time this news item was published.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
