FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
After 2015, the government vigorously began the practice of granting concessions for many services and projects that it intended to implement.
Despite initial opposition from international financial institutions, who demanded a clear cost-benefit analysis, state institutions did not stop. In 2015, the sterilization and check-up concessions were granted.
In 2016, dialysis was also granted as a concession, while in 2019, laboratories were granted, all in the field of health.
In 2015, the practice of granting incinerator concessions began, with Elbasan, which in 2017 was expanded to Fier and in 2019 to Tirana. In 2017, the maintenance of the Milot - Morinë road was granted as a concession, and in 2018, the Arbrit Road was granted as a concession.
The scanning concession, which had been approved in 2013 by the then-outgoing government, was also reviewed, and to remove the burden from businesses, the government undertook to pay part of the cost through the budget.
All of the above-mentioned concessions benefited from direct payments from the state budget.
The increase in these payments forced the government, after pressure from the IMF, to establish a fiscal rule, according to which the total amount of net annual payments made by general government units, resulting from concession contracts or Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), as a rule, should not exceed the limit of 5% of the actual tax revenues of the previous budget year.
In case of exceeding this limit, the Council of Ministers takes corrective measures in the area of budget revenues, necessary and sufficient, to return within the allowed limit, during the next two budget years.
The limit has never been exceeded so far, but reality is showing that for the most part, these payments have been cost-inefficient, while a large portion of the concessions is already under official investigation by SPAK, the special anti-corruption structure.
The data of the Ministry of Finance, in the actual budgets 2017 - 2024, processed by "Monitor", show that in seven years, the state budget has paid a total of 84 billion lek (about 840 million euros) for 12 concessions: Arbri Road; scanning; sterilization; laboratories; Tirana Incinerator; check-ups; dialysis; Milot - Morinë maintenance; educational infrastructure; Fier Incinerator; Orikum - Dukat; Elbasan Incinerator.
The highest amount was given for the Arbri Road (19.3 billion lek), sterilization (13 billion lek), scanning (12.3 billion lek), Tirana Incinerator (7.4 billion lek) – see the full table: Actual payments from the state budget for concessions 2017 – 2024.
Of these 12 concessions, for six of them – the three incinerators, the check-up and sterilization laboratories – an official investigation has been opened or proceedings have been initiated by SPAK with charges of corruption, abuse of office and even money laundering.
The total amount provided by the budget for these six concessions for the period 2017 - 2024 is 39 billion lek (about 400 million euros), which constitutes 46% of the total payments made from the budget for all concessions!!
Even the Finance Ministry itself has expressed concern that concession contracts are not being controlled or monitored in compliance with legal obligations and agreements between the state and the private sector, which are mandatory instruments./ Monitor
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