Tirana’s Waste Incinerator concession has become again the centre of the political debate, with the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) accusing the government and the Municipality of Tirana of being involved in a corruption scandal regarding the concession procedure of the Incinerator. Initially, it was the leader of LSI Monika Kryemadhi, who yesterday denounced Tirana’s waste incinerator concession, which according to her is a result of “a clean scheme of a criminal structure, that robs the money of Albanian citizens.” Kryemadhi said that she will bring the case to SPAK, and will fill a criminal report for the former Minister of Environment Lefter Koka, the Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj, the Secretary-General of the Prime Minister Engjëll Agaci, and the former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Environment Alqi Bllako (who is now the Chief Executive Officer at National Water Supply and Sewage Agency), for the criminal offence of abuse of office.
Kryemadhi listed a series of problems regarding the legal and financial procedures of the concession. According to the leader of LSI, not only the Ministry of the Environment was self-proclaimed as the contracting authority for the concession, but the former Minister of Environment lied when he declared that the project would not have additional effects on the state budget. Another accusation against the contracting authority was that it conducted the concession procedure without taking the approval of Tirana County.
The vice-chairman of LSI, Petrit Vasili, accused also today the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, for approving the project with a financial commitment for 30 years, although “Veliaj only proposes the budget of the Municipality […] the only institution that approves the budget is the Municipal Council,” said Vasili. After the new allegations, both LSI and DP called again today for SPAK to investigate the ongoing denunciations made by the opposition regarding Tirana’s Incinerator.
