TIRANA, Sep. 28 – The Albanian parliamentary opposition harshly accused the government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of hiding payments and not using regular sources to pay ex-U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge as a consultant last year.
Following data from the High State Control, it was revealed that the government has paid some half a million dollars and left the contract open for more to be paid to Ridge through his company, Ridge Global LLc consulting company.
The government had exploited the reserve fund for paying Ridge, which is not a normal way for working with vendors.
The opposition also attacked the government for hiding the contract signed with Ridge. Last year, Berisha hired Ridge as a consultant to advise his government on a range of issues including NATO membership, fighting corruption and tackling organized crime.
Under the agreement, Ridge, 62, would make occasional visits to Albania, but would primarily work with the government from the United States and experts he would employ would provide advice.
Ridge’s main priority would be to help Albania meet its goal of joining NATO in 2008, Berisha said a year ago. Ridge has also been hired to help Albania attract U.S. investment, fight money laundering and reform its justice system, he said.
The former Pennsylvania governor will also help the country develop its agriculture and information technology sectors, Berisha said. The small, predominantly Muslim, Adriatic country is one of the poorest countries in Europe and aspires to join the European Union. Ridge cut short his second term as Pennsylvania governor when U.S. President George W. Bush appointed him to coordinate homeland security after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He was named the head of the department a year later and stepped down in February 2005.
About Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge, the First U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and a two-term governor of Pennsylvania, operates Ridge Global LLC, a global advisory firm that provides strategic and operational guidance to clients worldwide. Ridge Global assists clients with a range of needs, including strategic business generation, global trade security, risk assessment and contingency planning, crisis management and communications, leadership guidance and change management, special event security and technology innovation and integration.
Based in Washington, D.C., the firm comprises a vast bench of talent drawn from former high-level posts in both the government and private sector arenas. Ridge Global already has attracted a diverse array of clients, including the government of Albania, which has enlisted Ridge Global to help the Adriatic democracy meet its goal to join NATO in 2008. Additionally, the Ridge team assists Albania in attracting private enterprise and creating a roadmap for political and justice reforms. “Given an extraordinary depth of expertise, Tom Ridge is a leading statesman and participant on the world stage,” said Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. “We value his forward-leaning wisdom and input.”
Ridge Global also provides counsel to Deloitte & Touche USA LLP on issues, challenges and trends facing today’s states and governors. “With Tom Ridge’s experience at the state and federal levels, we’re delighted that our organization and our state government clients have access to his creative insights and results-driven perspectives,” said James H. Quigley, Global CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Born in Pittsburgh’s Steel Valley, Governor Ridge was raised in a working-class family. He graduated from Harvard with honors in 1967, before being drafted into the U.S. Army to serve as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam. His service earned him the Bronze Star for Valor, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. In 1982, he became one of the first Vietnam combat veterans elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was overwhelmingly re-elected five times. Additionally, Tom Ridge serves on public and private boards and is currently the chairman of the National Organization on Disability. His nonprofit work also includes service with the Council for Competitiveness, the Center for U.S. Global Engagement, the Center for Excellence in Government and the Center for the Study of the Presidency. He continues to contribute to matters concerning our nation’s veterans and, along with Gen. Tommy Franks (Ret.), serves as national co-chairman of the Flight 93 Memorial Fundraising Campaign.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Ridge Global LLC provides strategic and operational advisory services that advance the security and economic needs of business and governments worldwide. For more information, please visit www.ridgeglobal.com
