FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The 1.3 billion lek reconstruction of Villa 31 was paid for by the state budget, while the 35-year use was granted by concession to the NGO "Art-Explore"...
After the protest near Villa No. 31, the prime minister described the event as an attack on an art center financed by France. Published documents show that the reconstruction worth 1.3 billion lek was financed by Albanian taxes and was granted a 35-year concession to the French NGO “Art-Explore”, with a rent linked to the costs of energy, water and maintenance. According to information, during 2025 the government has allocated the NGO about 3 million euros for artistic programs. The issue has opened a debate on the transparency of financing and the terms of the concession.
After the flames and smoke of Molotov cocktails and firecrackers that PD protesters threw at Villa No. 31 of former dictator Enver Hoxha, Prime Minister Edi Rama raised the smoke, calling it an attack on the French-funded art center and a threat to the lives of foreign artists.
This statement by the prime minister was immediately repeated by the media close to him, ministers, deputies and patronages, calling it a criminal attack against world art and French cultural investment.
The truth is that the investment that turned the former dictator Hoxha's villa into an art center for artists from all over the world (as Edi Rama says), was not funded by either the French State or the French NGO "Art-Explore".
The documents being published by "Pamfleti" prove that the investment was financed 100% by Albanian taxes, while Edi Rama made the bargain to give the villa under concession to a French NGO predetermined by him.
On May 29, 2023, the Directorate of Government Services announced the development of the tender for the reconstruction of Villa No. 31, with a contract value of 1.3 billion lek including VAT, awarded to the private company "Valona Konstruksion" Sh.pk, which completed the work in record time and according to the project.
Five months after the tender was held and the reconstruction was still not completed, Prime Minister Edi Rama signed Decision No. 570, dated October 11, 2023, to transfer Enver Hoxha's villa to the Ministry of Culture.
With this decision, it was returned to "Vila Art Rezidence-Tirana", to be given under concession to a foreign NGO; which Edi Rama had predetermined to be the French NGO "Art-Explore" with a term of use of 35 years.
The monthly rental fee that the French NGO will pay to the Ministry of Culture for the use of Villa No. 31 is set to be equivalent to the monthly electricity and water bill that it will spend on maintenance.
But according to information received by "Pamphlet", the French NGO has not paid for either electricity or water, while during 2025, the Albanian government has given it 3 million Euros, ostensibly for the encouragement, selection, support and promotion of young Albanian artists./Pamphlet
Vjedhje ashiqare. Promovim i kulturës ,apo seli e shërbimeve të huaja të intelegjencës dhe qëndër e promovimit të prostitucionit?