Advice from British Crown Agents to help increase Albania’s GDP by 1 percent, says Rama
TIRANA, Jan. 27 – Prime Minister Edi Rama says he expects a 1 percent GDP increase just from customs revenue increases this year. It will be made possible by a British international development company, Crown Agents that has been hired to assist the country, according to the prime minister.
Speaking in a conference with customs representatives this week, Rama said the specialized agency will transform the Albanian customs administration’s working culture.
“We are determined on transformation for sustainable results related to the system, the human and financial resources and the country’s sustainable economic development,” Rama said.
David Smith who heads a team of 12 Crown Agent experts in Albania said the agency will improve the performance of the customs administration by fighting corruption and increasing the integrity of the administration.
“We are here to offer our support and assistance to collect more revenues and not to duplicate Albanian institutions,” he said.
Crown Agents have been hired to help collect more money and fight corruption in the customs network, officials have said.
Rama said that the new efforts seek to eradicate perceptions that custom officials or agents were merely looking to steal money to enrich themselves.
The opposition Democratic Party denounced Rama’s statements over customs workers saying that administration has been already reformed during the eight years of the Democrats’ governance by reconstructing several customs offices and shifting to online declarations and e-scanning of containers.
The Albanian government will pay UK-based Crown Agents Euro 8.5 million during the first two years of its operations in Albania where it will assist the country’s customs administration improve its performance by fighting corruption.
The contract announced last November sparked heated debate with the opposition Democratic Party describing the deal as abusive and unnecessary. Crown Agents will be stripped of all taxes during its operation in Albania, including profit tax, personal income tax for its experts, VAT, and social security and health insurance.
The international consultancy firm will assist the customs administration in analyzing information, investigation, inspection and verification. The company will also report to the Finance Ministry on every case of abuse, corruption including those involving customs staff.
Fuelled by record imports of fuel and tobacco ahead of the entry into force of a new fiscal package increasing taxes starting January 2014, Albania’s customs administration says it collected a historic high of 16.5 billion lek (Euro 115 million, USD 157 million) in December 2013, an extra 4.2 billion lek (USD 40 million) compared to December 2012.
Albania’s economy is in a dire situation with the government finding hard to get enough revenue for normal operations.
The Socialist-led government has accused the former cabinet of then-Prime Minister Sali Berisha of creating the situation. There has been a trend of charges laid on former officials about abuse with the public money.
The government is looking to increase revenue and liquidity in order not to increase the public debt, while keeping pace with public salaries and investment in infrastructure and more.
Not only bringing more liquidity to the state budget, but also bringing the customs department in line with the European Union standards is key for the money invested in the British agents.
