200 packages of food and basic hygiene products were delivered today to the Municipality of Vushtrri, which will be distributed to families in need in this municipality.
These packages were donated by the Albanian Business Network from Bavaria "Besa Foundation", Kosovo Producers Club, Germin organization, in the framework of the campaign "Besa for Kosovo: Diaspora in aid of the homeland during COVID-19".
All products of these packages are local products, in order to help both local producers and families in need.
The Mayor of Vushtrri, Xhafer Tahiri, said that these packages are very necessary for families in need at a time when the country is facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that the special thing about these packages is that they are all local products, which according to him, in this way, in addition to families in need, local producers are also being helped.
Tahiri said that the diaspora, as always, is coming to the aid of the homeland, for which he thanked the diaspora on behalf of all the people of Vushtrri.
The head of Vushtrri stated that he has asked the Government of Kosovo to buy potatoes from local farmers, while emphasizing that he supports the initiative of the Producers Club to change the procurement law, in order to give priority to local products.
“I will join the call of the Club of Local Producers that the procurement law of the Republic of Kosovo be changed in such a way that even in the name of environmental protection it will enable more access and will give priority to local producers within Kosovo for any product purchased through public procurement law in Kosovo. Especially on the issue of potatoes, I have made a request to the government to buy the potatoes that are currently in stock with the farmers of Vushtrri, to be in the state reserve and then distributed to the municipalities so that it is distributed to social cases. This would have a very big effect on the farmer as well, because he would have something to plant his land with again and we would have potato products again in the fall", he said.
Tahiri announced that all donations will be sent with a list home by volunteers, where then that list will be sent to donors in order for everything to be transparent.
Whereas, the director of the Kosovo Producers Club, Astrit Panxha said that the government should buy potatoes for state reserves from the farmers of Vushtrri, in order to stimulate the local economy.
"With this campaign we also protect jobs, because they are only products of Kosovo, and we are helping families in need… It is much more important that the public procurement law is changed, because the Government is the largest spender in the economy, if the funds spent are used to purchase local products then as the mayor said the effect will be much greater. We have the case of the potato that is in Vushtrri, the Government must buy reserves to stimulate the economy and only in this form will we overcome this crisis that we are facing today ", he said.
For all the packages that were donated today in Vushtrri, Panxha said that every cent will be documented where it was spent, so that donors know where their money has gone.
Assistance with food packages will be ongoing for all municipalities in Kosovo. This was stated by the director of the Germin organization, Sihana Bejtullahu.
"This campaign is continuous, today we are in the Municipality of Vushtrri, but we will continue in other municipalities taking into account that the need is very great, we do not know how long it will last," she said.
"Besa for Kosovo: Diaspora helping the homeland during COVID-19", is a humanitarian campaign to raise funds mainly from the diaspora, to help families who are in difficult economic conditions during the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, and at the same time to support local producers, since the products of these packages are 100% "Made in Kosovo"
