Although useful, the Institute for Social Policies “Musine Kokalari” considers the decision of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo to assist unemployed new mothers with 7 million euros, referring to Measure 3.5 – Payments for New Mothers and Child Supplements, problematic due to possible side effects. As is known, the Government of Kosovo has also planned the inclusion of employed new mothers to empower women in the labor market. By elaborating further on the analysis of this measure in its new report, IPS “Musine Kokalari” calls on the Government of Kosovo to accompany this measure with a parallel and aggressive employment policy.
Monthly payments for new mothers are intended directly for the women. If there is no simultaneous increase in women’s employment in Kosovo, then the payment for new mothers risks presenting and confining women to a one-dimensional social role — that of a mother. Measures to increase women’s employment are included in the same Recovery Package, but their implementation must begin with the same intensity. The uniform distribution of payments for new mothers and child supplements maintains the current social inequality. Treating all families equally regardless of their monthly income is wrong and unfair (even if formally equal). Families with the same number of members but different monthly incomes lead to the misallocation of public funds. The same applies to payments for new mothers, whether they are employed or not.
The Institute for Social Policies “Musine Kokalari” has also made some calculations based on birth data from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (ASK) regarding the budget allocation for employed and unemployed new mothers. In 2020, when the number of births was 21,952, the total cost of this measure would have been 19 million euros (see the formula in the report).
Meanwhile, during the month of August 2021 alone, it was reported that there were 5,800 births. Overall, in 2021, the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (ASK) reported a higher number of births compared to previous years calculated in this report.
The total expenses for the implementation of this measure until the end of the year will be as follows:
5,139 * 170.00 * 6 = 5,240,984.40 euros – for unemployed new mothers
661 * 170 * 3 = 337,507.80 euros – for employed new mothers.
Below is the link where you can download the report: