Ida Ismail
The end of the year holidays bring an atmosphere of joy to every city, but behind the decorations and large fir trees that adorn the squares, often hides a heavy cost to local budgets. This year, the country's municipalities, including that of Tirana, have spent large sums on festive decorations, raising questions about the transparency and efficiency of the use of public funds.
December, the month of Christmas and New Year holidays, comes with the decor and decorations.
In addition to the atmosphere created for the celebration and entertainment of all age groups, municipalities often use it as an opportunity for abuse.
This year, the municipality of Tirana has opened 4 tenders with a total value of 28.8 million ALL for the year-end decoration. For the year 2023, the municipality of Tirana spent about 21.2 million ALL from the budget of 28.5 million ALL.
The procurement was done in October for the purchase of decorations for the New Year 2024 celebrations in the city of Tirana. According to the Municipality of Tirana, the goal is to prepare for a bright and lively festive season, contributing to the positive atmosphere and attracting as many tourists as possible. According to the data, the source is self-financed and the municipality of Tirana opened the tender for the purchase of decorations with the limit fund of 9 ALL.
The two competing operators that participated are "Arteo 20218" and "Iceberg Communication". "Iceberg Communication" was declared the winner again this year, with a fund of 9 ALL without VAT, while the firm Arteo 379 was disqualified due to the failure to present the samples to the Decor and Events Company on the specified date and time.
Decor in the capital
In response to the request for information about the expenses for the decoration, the municipality of Tirana informs that the conception of the end of the year holidays for 2025 is related to the Year of Artificial Intelligence, decorations which include the "Martyrs of the Nation" Boulevard, the Municipality of Tirana, Skënderbej square and several main streets of the capital, for which the value spent is 57,186,240 ALL with VAT.
This year, like never before, not 1, but 5 trees were placed in "Skënderbej" square. According to the municipality of Tirana, the change of years is conceived by changing the 4 funnels in Europa Square which coincide with the year 2024 and the 5 trees in "Skënderbej" Square which symbolize the year 2025.
Decoration of the Artificial Lake Park, 6.5 million ALL
Rarely, this year the Great Park of the Artificial Lake of Tirana, extending along the entire part of the Lake Dam, has been decorated, for which the municipality has spent 6.5 million ALL.
While ALL 2.9 million were spent on year-end fireworks.
Municipality of Tirana, 9 500 000.00 lek for strings of lights
The data of Open Procurement Albania reveal, with a red flag, that the tender for the purchase of strings of lights in the capital is in violation.
The Municipality of Tirana established a limit fund of 9 500 000.00 ALL for the purchase of strings of lights, while two competing operators ARTEO 2018 and ELENI TOPI participated. ARTEO 2018 was declared the winner, with a fund of about 8 ALL without VAT, while the company ELENI TOPI was disqualified, as the samples were not submitted according to the established requirements.
Armela Duka, economic analyst, says that the expenditure by the municipality of Tirana shows an inefficient management of public funds and an inflated budget to justify other unnecessary expenses, at a time when other investments are more urgent and priority.
The violation found by Open Procurement Albania is the disqualification of competing operators, except for the winner.
Economy expert Zef Preçi explains that these public funds could be more useful to invest in infrastructure, but also as aid to the needy. Preçi said: "They feed the clientelistic businesses of the mayors, providing them with "easy money" and very close to the limit fund (known as tenders in the absence of real competition).
Other municipalities of the country are also in violation
The municipality of Korça spent this year over 11 million ALL for the year-end decorations. It is about decorative ribbons, lamps and other equipment for decorating various premises in the city of Korça, which has become one of the most visited attractions for Christmas and New Year. This municipality has spent 3.000.000.00 ALL from the limit fund of 3.749.333.00 ALL for three installations, which includes a fir tree, a candlestick and a metal structure.
Open Procurement Albania has found a lack of competition of operators for decoration expenses, with a limit fund of 2 916 460.00 ALL. The only competitive operator was Alb Korrket, which won with the fund 2 ALL without VAT.
Given that we are in a pre-election year, expert Zef Preçi underlines that most of the country's municipalities have a strenuous and costly effort to create the image of a "developing Albania" that does not ask about crises, that has turned into a construction site etc.
For the year 2024, the municipality of Korçë planned to spend 12.3 million ALL and spent about 11 million ALL, unlike in 2023 where it spent about 5.6 million ALL for the decoration of the city. While for 2022, over 4.6 million ALL were spent, an amount close to 2021, where the decoration of the city of Korça was 4.4 million ALL.
Violations in the tendering process even in small municipalities
The municipality of Kavajë has spent 4.740.000.00 ALL for the festive decoration of the city and the company "Iceberg Communication" was announced as the winner for the decoration of this city.
The violation found by Open Procurement Albania is the lack of competition among operators.
For economic analyst Armela Duka, one of the main problems associated with these tenders is the lack of transparency and the elimination of the offer with the lowest value, which shows a lack of respect for fair competition and distorts the procurement process.
Durrësi, the second largest municipality in the country, has spent 219.980.00 ALL without VAT for the decoration of the city. The limit fund established by the municipality of Durres was ALL 320.000.00.
While festive decorations create a magical sight and attract tourists, they also serve as a reflection of the priorities of local institutions. At a time when many citizens face economic challenges, a debate is needed on how public funds can be better managed, giving priority to long-term investments that bring lasting benefits to citizens, beyond the lights of seasonal glitter.
