Author: Ina Allkanjari
The malfunction of the electronic signature Services at the State Cadastre Agency, under the supervision of AKSHI, has caused significant interruptions, causing delays and increased costs for citizens and businesses. This situation was worsened by the lack of clarity regarding the reasons for the system interruption and its duration, leaving citizens trapped in bureaucratic limbo during property transactions.
The National Agency of the Information Society (AKSHI) has created a new wave of concerns after the blocking of Services that require an electronic seal and signature which are obtained from the State Cadastre Agency.
This situation has caused reactions from citizens and businesses, who report delays and increased costs that are negatively affecting their activity. During the month of February, for about two weeks, the online system of the State Cadastre Agency was out of order.
In an alert received by ACQJ, 35-year-old citizen Laura tells about the delays and the long wait to receive a copy of the property card of the apartment she owns in the city of Berat.
She says that she started the procedure of selling her house on February 17. After she contacted the notary to apply for the contract and the necessary documentation, the process was accompanied by delays.
"As a start, the notary would issue a copy of the fragment of the cadastral map of the property and issue a copy of the property card for me. These come out of the mortgage. I called the notary on February 19 and she told me that for at least three days she has not been able to apply and upload any documents to AKSHI and ASHK. He told me that we will wait until the site is unlocked. In the meantime, he asked me to remind him again and again as he had a lot of documents from other citizens", says Laura.
The application process to obtain the necessary documentation for the sale of the property was not being carried out due to the blockage of the system, bringing anxiety to Laura, that she would not be able to complete the sale within the planned deadlines. Meanwhile, the cost of this delay was accompanied by an additional 2000 lek to speed up the process.
"We waited until March 1, when I called the notary on the phone and Laura told me that the system was opened today, and on March 1 she applied for me."
"From February 19 to March 1, I talked with the notary day by day, as a seller, as a buyer, we were waiting. She also had stress as a notary because there were procedures very behind in time".
The citizen tells Sinjalizo the damage that this delay caused her as she says that the reason for selling the apartment in the city of Berati was the desire to buy an apartment in the capital, but although more than a month has passed, the sale procedure has not yet been completed.
"As the sale procedure is prolonged because you cannot upload the documentation, my procedure to buy a property is also prolonged. This is really a stressful part to take the notary on the phone every day, to talk to the seller every day who started not to believe me. The buyer himself had the money in hand to put directly in the bank and was waiting for me. "I still haven't completed the sale today, because when the buyer's certificate will be issued after so many days, then the money from the notary that is frozen for my property will be transferred to my account," says Laura.
To learn more about the causes of the blocking of the online system in the Cadastre offices, for a two-week period in February, we addressed a request for comment to the State Agency of Cadastre.
In the response received for ACQJ, the State Cadastre Agency writes that the activity of ASHK has never stopped functioning, while in relation to the electronic signature, it delegates the responsibility to the National Agency of the Information Society.
"We want to clarify that the activity of ASHK has never stopped functioning and Services are continuously offered to citizens and businesses according to the request of individuals. Regarding the electronic signature, we inform you that the maintenance and administration of the electronic signature system is carried out by AKSHI as the central institution for the management of electronic systems", writes in the answer to ACQJ, the State Cadastre Agency.
The National Information Society Agency did not respond to ACQJ's request for comment.
In relation to this issue, under conditions of anonymity, notaries also raise concerns. They signal that although the system was blocked for two weeks, they did not have any information about the causes of the interruption, nor about the time when the operation of the service would resume.
"We have the central offices, there is a special group that communicates with the Cadastre, we communicate with the central offices to get information. Regarding this issue, we were told that we are waiting for the system to be fixed. No other explanation", says notary FK for ACQJ.
He dwells on the consequences that this blockade brought, stressing that the citizens were the most affected party.
"Blocking the system definitely had a negative impact, customers get upset. What hindered us was the part where the ownership certificates for the contracts we had made did not come out. In the meantime, the citizens' money was blocked, the one who sold the house could not get the money", says the notary.
Problems with the online system of the State Cadastre Agency are repeated. Since the beginning of July last year when the physical Cadastre counters were closed and the entire system went online, citizens have been faced with delays and service interruptions, causing unnecessary stress and delays to their processes.
Reinaldo Pipiria, Executive Director of the Albanian Real Estate Association (NAREA) tells ACQJ that the problems with the State Cadastre Agency are daily and have affected many citizens, also evidencing extreme delays for cadastral map copies.
"Some of the challenges and problems that we as NAREA encounter in our daily life and that are related to ASHK are: Non-compliance with application deadlines; Extreme delays for cadastral map copies; The mortgage asks citizens for the documents it has in its archive; Non-reflection of the data on the cards, often the price is marked as 1 Lek, even though there is a purchase contract; Only 1 of the buying parties is allowed to apply when making a sale; The mortgage never fulfills its duty according to Instruction No. 1, dated 13.4.2016, item 26.10 for recording data on common meters in property cards; Allowing partial application," says the director of NAREA.
Efforts for solutions by the responsible institutions, including AKSHI and the Cadastre Agency, have not yet brought the desired results for the citizens.
The ongoing challenges faced by citizens and businesses due to the malfunctioning of electronic systems underline the urgent need for efficient and reliable administrative infrastructure. Without quick and effective solutions, such disruptions will continue to disrupt vital processes, causing unnecessary stress and financial burden to individuals and businesses. It is imperative that ANA prioritizes the stability and efficiency of electronic Services to ensure normal operation and increase public trust in the institutions.
This article was created based on input provided by individuals who have chosen to speak up. Share your story, empower others and be an agent for change. Visit the website: www.acqj.al/sinjalizo-dhe-ti/
