TIRANA, March 27 – The opposition’s Democratic Party (DP) published documents on Sunday allegedly proving Prime Minister Edi Rama’s involvement in the illegal embezzlement schemes of the country’s South coastline land.
DP representative Enkelejd Alibeaj said the development and construction permits for property stolen by Socialist Party (SP) MP Alket Hyseni in possession of the DP prove Rama is heading “mafia schemes” to steal coastline property.
“Edi Rama, with his signature, had decided two times in a row that, in the coastline property of the Bua family, in Dhermi, a touristic resort will be built, failing to take in consideration the Court’s decision to suspend any action with the property,” Alibeaj said.
According to the DP, Socialist MP Hyseni has stolen 11.000 square meters of land in cooperation with Rama from the Bua family property. At the time the development and construction permits were issued the property was already suspended by a court decision, while Hyseni was leading the Office Against Money Laundering.
“The first document shows that Edi Rama, as head of the National Territory Council, signed the development permit of the touristic complex and a year later signed again, to authorize the construction permit for his constructor friend Gon Papuli and his PM, Alket Hyseni,” Alibeaj said.
At the SP meeting this week, organized behind closed doors, PM Taulant Balla reportedly touched upon these accusations.
Replying to Hyseni’s claim the land was used after winning the trial “eight times” , Balla asked the PM to publicly clarify the issue.
Head of the country’s Legalization Agency Artan Lame, asked by local media on the issue, said the biggest part of the country’s territory is unregistered in the mortgages office, turning ownership issues into a course of conflict and abuse.
“The entire Southern coastline is unregistered. This didn’t happen unintentionally. It has been left like that for the last 20 years to be torn apart. And it has worked. Generally, nation-wide and without making distinctions between the SP and the DP, blue and red, local administrations have been equally involved in the process,” Lame said.
Socialist MP Hyseni was head of the Task Force some years ago to monitor coastline property embezzlement and, according to the opposition, he abused his office by buying the embezzled property for 230 million Albanian Lek using fake documents.
In addition, the DP claims Hyseni knew the property was going through a judicial process in Vlora’s court which to this day has suspended any action on or with the property.
Even after the court’s ruling, the DP says now, the property passed from the first fabricator to buyer Alket Hyseni and, from him, to a constructor who the DP claims is Rama’s friend and who was given power over the property of a local family.
Local media reported the government has stopped coastline property transactions after a series of arrests in Kavaja, Rrogozhina and recently Lezha, where officials were accused of office abuse and corruption.
Meanwhile, currently authorities have claimed they are dealing with a couple of coastline property abuse cases, estimated to turn into grounds for elite tourism.
