Latest News

Kosovo Businesses at Risk from Trump's USAID Freeze

Kenan Gashi, a shop owner in Kosovo, saws the limbs of old mannequins and then throws them in machines donated by the U.S. Government that shred the plastic and clean it so that it can be reused.

Gashi's business of recycling in Fushe Kosova has been transformed since it received equipment from USAID two years ago. This prompted him to plan to hire more employees.

Gashi, however, is now worried. Gashi is worried now. Now, the Trump administration has frozen USAID's funding and is attempting to reduce the agency and U.S. Foreign Aid in line with his "America First Agenda".

In a press statement, Trump cited the Kosovo recycling donation in his video as an example of what kind of government expenditures he wanted to cut.

Gashi threw plastic pieces into an USAID grinder that had a sticker on it saying "Recycling matters".

According to U.S. Government figures, the U.S. is one of Kosovo's most ardent supporters, ever since this small Balkan landlocked country separated from Serbia. The U.S. provided $1.1 billion worth of aid since 2001.

GAP, a Pristina based think tank, said that USAID is currently managing 17 projects totaling more than $156m. However it's unclear how much has been actually disbursed.

Politicians and residents of Kosovo say that Kosovo is among the poorest countries of Europe, and it still needs urgent aid.

The north is plagued by ethnic tensions that persist between the Albanian minority and the Serb majority. The European Union has cancelled more than 12 aid projects, worth at least $150 million, as a direct result of the role played by Kosovo authorities in this conflict.

Burim Ejupi, a think tank based in Pristina called Indep, said that the USAID funds will not be frozen. "However ..., each dollar or euro is important to a country in desperate need of them."

Funds that were intended to protect marginalised communities, accelerate the transition from coal, a highly polluting fuel, to renewable energy and strengthen Kosovo's democracy institutions are at risk.

The recipients of the funding claim that it has made a positive impact on them and their communities.

Qazim, a 38-year-old recycler, searches daily for plastic in the rubbish bins of Pristina, the capital. USAID gave him a small tractor, and a machine to crush plastic. His income has increased from five euros per day to twenty euros.

Before the Americans helped, there were times that 10 family members went to bed without eating. Grashtica, surrounded by plastics ready to sell in his workshop, said: "We had nothing to eat."

"I'll tell Trump that you are a good person and should help others, especially in Kosovo."

(source: Reuters)