In December 2017, the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, inaugurated the works on the road Ali Shefqeti, the reconstruction of which cost the budget of the capital approximately 61 million lek (about 484 thousand euros).
The road, which connects the neighborhood Ali Demi with the former Autotractor Plant in Tirana, was one of the most frequented, at the same time one of the most problematic in the city, with sidewalks occupied by courtyards of houses and businesses. The potholes scattered throughout its length made it difficult for vehicles to move, mainly in the winter months, when they were filled with rainwater.
The reconstruction of this road was planned to be carried out in March 2017, but in fact only the beginning of the works was inaugurated in December of the same year. However, the problems that this road had, have not been solved to this day.
Sidewalks were widened only in some parts of it and not along the entire road, and today, when a year and a month have passed since the completion of the road, the damage to the asphalt has started to show.
Vera, 60 years old, a resident of this street for years, emphasizes that, although this street has been constantly being reconstructed in recent years, not much has changed.
"The only ones that have disappeared are the big pits," she said.
This investment was only one of 20 such that the project Tiranalytics, an assessment of public expenditures of local government in the Municipality of Tirana, analyzed for a six-month period. This initiative was funded by LevizAlbania, a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and was implemented by Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, and engaged technical expertise and journalists with the aim of raising awareness of public investments in the capital.
The time span of the development of these investments spanned seven years (2011-2018), and the analysis included investments with a value higher than ALL 10 million that raised "red flags" in procurement procedures or product quality final.
The investments made during the time when the Municipality of Tirana was led by the chairman of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, and the current leader, Erion Veliaj, were mainly construction or reconstruction of new roads, rehabilitation of residential blocks, as well as investments in green parks or parks games.
One of the main findings of the report that accompanied this study is related to the low quality of investment works and the fact that most of them do not stand the test of time.
"The control of the implementation of the works, both by the supervisors contracted by the Municipality of Tirana, but also by the specialists of the relevant departments of the municipality, is at minimal levels.
For most of the already completed facilities, which have not met the deadline for the quality of the works, no measures have been taken by the Municipality of Tirana, either on the companies implementing the works, but also on the companies controlling and supervising them. ", - it is emphasized in the findings of the report.
Despite the fact that these investments in a large part are not qualitative, there are no companies identified and denounced by the Municipality of Tirana, which are responsible for these works.
"For most of the investments made, even though they did not withstand the time limit of the works guarantee, the value kept as part of the works guarantee fund was handed over to the companies implementing the works, in flagrant violation of the law", - it is emphasized in the report.
One of the other important findings of the report is related to the fact that the main part of the investments made by the Municipality of Tirana does not have a full feasibility study or, in other words, justification of the ratio between cost and benefit.
"For a part of the investments made, there were additions to works contracts in the amount of 20% of the value of the investment, as much as the maximum value of allowing the addition of works by the law, which in our opinion at least shows a clear lack of investment planning carried out", - it is emphasized in the findings of the study.
The lack of building permits in cases of new investments in the capital is another disturbing finding of the study.
"In most cases of interventions for the construction of new main and secondary roads and the rehabilitation of internal roads of residential blocks, there is a lack of permission for their construction.
In no table advertised by the implementers of public investments for these objects, it turns out that the number and the construction permit issued by the relevant bodies of the Municipality of Tirana have been marked", - it is emphasized in it.
Likewise, the report adds that, in public investment identification tables the date of the start of the works, as well as the date of their completion, is not noted, in accordance with the signed contracts and legal obligations.
Also, the report identifies that in the interventions carried out for the rehabilitation of the internal spaces of residential blocks or even the reconstruction of roads, many cases of non-demolition of unauthorized constructions, which have occupied a part of public spaces, are observed.
For these cases, the project experts suggest that the Municipality of Tirana should start the procedure of cooperation with the Agency for Legalization, Urbanization and Integration of Informal Areas/Buildings (ALUIZNI), to record the investments made and announce the official notification for their demolition.
"This is to avoid facing much higher costs for their expropriation in the future. The exchange of the necessary information would encourage the users of these facilities not to invest further costs for the constructions carried out without permission in these public spaces, with the sure possibility of expropriation in the future", the study states.
The lack of coordination within the municipal enterprises regarding the programming of the investments made is another concern raised by the project.
"There are many cases where, immediately after the investment made by the relevant department of the Municipality of Tirana, the investment by the Water-Sewage Company (an enterprise dependent on the municipality) has begun, to finalize its project for the drinking water system or waste water sewers", - it is emphasized in it.
In the same way, interventions carried out without full coordination with the Electricity Company (OSHEE), or even interventions for the laying of the Internet and landline telephone network, are noted.
All the above elements have brought unjustified and increased costs to the detriment of the economic interests of the citizens of Tirana.
*Photo credit for the photo at the beginning of the article: Gazeta Dita
**This article was produced within the project "Tiranalytics: An assessment of public expenditures of local government in the Municipality of Tirana" which is supported by LevizAlbania, a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The opinions and views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of the donor.
