TIRANA, Oct. 18 – The opposition Socialist Party claims the 2009 budget implementation was the “budget reflecting the economic crisis” in Albania with government failing to collect around 200 million dollars in revenues compared to what was projected in normative acts.
“Some 20.6 billion lek or 200 million dollars is missing compared to the 2009 normative act, which is equal to the payment of four months of pensions for 550,000 pensioners,” said opposition leader Edi Rama last weekend in his weekly meeting with journalists after Parliament discussed the 2009 budget implementation.
Alleging that budget data discussed in Parliament are completely different from the 2009 normative acts, the leader of the biggest opposition party said government had failed to collect 100 million dollars in tax and customs revenues. According to him, another 220 million dollars is missing in expenditures and around 30 million dollars in capital expenditure.
Accusing government, Rama said Prime Minister Sali Berisha stripped Parliament of its constitutional right to decide on the budget in the closing days of 2009, changing it through normative acts.
The opposition leader said the money missing in the state coffers was used in favours to people close to government.
Speaking of the public debt, Rama said that it had increase by 865 million dollars year-on-year at the end of 2009.
“We are in a very critical moment with public debt increasing twice as much as revenues,” said Rama, explaining that the 2009 additional revenues were worth 560 million dollars, at a time when public debt increased by 860 million dollars.
Rama also warned that the country’s most important markets, including energy, oil, fixed-line telephony, tax stamps, flour and public works were in a situation of monopoly.
Administrative Court
Asked if the opposition would change its stance on the approval of the Administrative Court bill, which the majority cannot approve on its own votes because of needing a qualified majority of 84 votes, Rama said the opposition had not changed its mind.
He denied having discussed the Administrative Court issue in a meeting with U.S. Charge D’Affaires Deborah Jones after the United States withdrew funds supporting the establishment of the Administrative Court system.
Socialist Party officials have reiterated they won’t vote the bill which needs a qualified majority of 84 votes unless last year’s general elections are made transparent.
Earlier this month, the United States embassy in Tirana announced it was withdrawing from its financial support to the Administrative Courts bill after both the majority and opposition failed to find consensus on its approval in last week’s parliamentary session. In a statement, the embassy said that failure to pass this law has resulted in the withdrawal of continued U.S. assistance to the Administrative Courts component of the nearly 16 million dollars from the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement.
The Administrative Courts law was designed to reduce opportunities for corruption, improve transparency in the judicial system, strengthen the rule of law, boost citizen trust in public institutions, and further align Albania’s judicial system with required European Union integration standards.
The U.S. Embassy actively engaged both parties and sought their support for passage of this law, expressing its appreciation for the measures taken by the parliamentary majority to seek its passage. “It is regrettable that the opposition chose not to vote on the bill,” said the embassy.
Business costs associated with the absence of administrative courts are estimated at than 400 million euros a year, say government officials who were pushing to have the law on the new court system approved in parliament.
