Author: Denis Tahiri
The year 2019 was not the peak of the most important diplomatic negotiations and meetings for Albania, and yet the trips of former minister Gent Cakaj and his staff have cost the country 300 million old ALL. 2020 was not like that either. However, the problem does not lie in frequent trips, but in the mismatch of ticket prices, which, compared to any other ministry, are 3 times more expensive. All the more so that these tickets of the former minister in charge Cakaj and the staff were bought as economy class tickets, but in reality, in terms of value, they do not turn out to be such at all.
The investigation of the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism reveals how during the two years he held the position of acting minister in the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Gent Cakaj made 49 trips in total, together with the closest staff. The invoice that was paid for the intensive route cost 29,959,255.00 ALL spent on air travel tickets alone.
What stands out in these trips is the fact that many of the tickets were paid at double, triple and there are even cases when they were paid at four times their price, for the economy class that the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs insists that belong
Salted tickets
The destination most frequented by the former minister is related to trips across the ocean. Apparently, the trip was made in economy class, at least that's how the ticket was purchased, but despite this classification, the ticket was purchased more expensively than a business class ticket.
The investigation of the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism specifically reveals that three tickets to Washington, one for former minister Cakaj and two others for members of his staff were paid by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 1,750,002.00 ALL. These tickets belong to economy class with departure on June 20 and return on June 28, 2020. This visit of former minister Cakaj, according to MEPJ, had to be held in the USA with a focus on meetings with DASH representatives. The delegation consisted of three people.
So, practically, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs paid more than 5 old lek for the trip alone, for an economy class plane ticket.
In another trip from Tirana to Washington of former minister Cakaj and three other people, his staff, from April 1 to 5, 2019, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs paid an amount of 1,291,752.00 ALL or ALL 322,938.00 per individual ticket. Even for this trip, in the official response, the Ministry says that it was done with economy class tickets.
Minister Cakaj, along with two other companions, traveled to Washington from Tirana on February 4 to participate in the meeting for the global Anti-ISIS coalition. The cost of these tickets, with a return date of February 8, 2019, is ALL 843,750.00. According to the official response of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the former minister and his two companions on this trip traveled across the ocean in economy class with an individual ticket value of 281,250.00 ALL.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance for the same destination and almost in the same period was cheaper in its costs for the trip to the USA. The MF holder's ticket to Washington departing on April 11 and returning on April 15, 2019 cost only 95,250 lek for the round-trip ticket. The purpose of Anila Denaj's trip was to participate in the "Spring Meeting 2019, World Bank Group", which is considered an important event. From the comparison between the expenses of the two ministers, it is understood that there is a big gap from the purchase of tickets compared to the amount of 281,250.00 lek paid by the MEPJ for a round-trip ticket to Washington.
Likewise, a ticket to the USA for Finance Minister Anila Denaj would cost only 71,004 ALL. The visit reported from October 16 to 21, 2019 focused on the annual meeting of the World Bank Governors.
In an effort to clarify how much a ticket from Tirana to Washington costs, the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism used kayak.com, a search engine for airline tickets. Unable to see how much a ticket cost on the specific dates the former minister and his staff bought to travel to the US, the search focused on asking how much an economy class ticket cost at the time of the investigation. The same criteria as the difference of days between departure and return were used, but an economy class ticket was also requested, like that of the former minister and his staff.
From the research done, it turns out that an economy class ticket from Tirana to Washington costs the cheapest 1215 dollars, while the most expensive ticket for the economy class is worth 1758 dollars. Converted to local currency, the ticket is equivalent to ALL 181,356.69.
But for Gent Cakaj, it was not only America that was uneconomic. He has traveled as if he had used business class with an economy ticket in Europe as well. The trip took place in Brussels. Two tickets were bought, one for the former minister and one staff member. Departing on March 17 and returning on March 19, 2019, ALL 245,448.00 was paid. So 122,724.00 for an individual round trip ticket.
The trip was made to participate in the conference entitled "Nato at seventy-post war...". But research by the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism again reveals that an economy class ticket to Brussels for an Albanian citizen and for anyone traveling with such a ticket costs $415 per person and $830 for two people.
The next journey Gent Cakaj undertook took him to Rome. On September 18, 2019, the former acting minister Gent Cakaj together with two other people arrived in Italy after spending a total of 249,000.00 ALL on the purchase of tickets with a value of 83,000.00 ALL for a return ticket. MEPJ says they are economy class.
All the tickets that were purchased by the MEPJ for the trips of the former minister in office and his accompanying staff, are reflected in the table below and as can be seen, they are all economy class. However, the prices at which they were purchased rarely reflect this.
Tickets
What MEPJ says about tickets
In an official response to the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs states that the air transport tickets for the Minister and the staff accompanying him in the framework of diplomatic activities abroad, are made in accordance with VKM no. 358/2013-1.
[sliders_pack id=”5000″]
"Regarding the prices of transport tickets, we inform you as follows: The price of plane tickets is determined by the offer presented by the economic operator, which depends on the price offered by the market at the time of submission of the request for procurement". it is said in the reaction of the MEPJ. This institution, along with its official position, clarifies that the reasons for widows are followedçprotocol side regarding travel ticket purchase Services for the holder and the staff accompanying him during the trip.
Further in its response, the Ministry argues that the value of the tickets depends on the time they were purchased.
"Time when the minister ends the meeting, e.g. in America and the immediate need to travel to another country is closely related to the price offered by the market for changing the ticket and finding in a very short time free seats and travel tickets to the desired destination . On special occasions, such as the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA, at the end of September every year, it is almost impossible to find tickets as all airlines pre-purchase seats from airline companies and sell tickets to passengers at very high prices. The above prices for which you request detailed explanations are dictated by the time when the service was requested and the price offered by the market for the type of flight requested”, concludes her response to ACQJ, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Two interior ministers in three years with less spending than MEPJ
From March 2017 to November 2018, the time when he left office, the former Minister of the Interior, Fatmir Xhafaj, according to the Ministry of the Interior, made 14 trips abroad, where the expenses for tickets have a cost of 1,247,616 ALL. Also, the expenses for plane tickets for the former Minister of the Interior, Sandër Lleshaj, was 1,331,743 ALL, this amount was used for the purchase of 16 trips. Meanwhile, the cost of plane tickets for the Cabinet of the Minister of the Interior from March 2017 to November 2018 was ALL 1,986,983, while from November 2018 to December 2020, the Cabinet of the Minister of the Interior spent on plane tickets for 19 trips made 1,212,109 ALL. These data are officially declared by the Ministry of the Interior.
Even Finance with a "red flag"
But despite the comparison with the former foreign minister, for two episodes of travel to the United States, minister Anila Denaj is not left behind for salty tickets. The Minister of Finance, Anila Denaj, since taking office, has made 19 trips until the end of 2020. Among them is the purchase of a plane ticket to France. The official visit was carried out on October 13, 2020 and the Ministry of Finance paid 1197 euros for this ticket. On the other hand, among the minister's expenses, there is an invoice of 755 euros, for one night's accommodation in Croatia, where Denaj stayed for a bilateral visit.
