State Audit Uncovers Abuse in Procurements

TIRANA, May 17 – The High State Audit has identified 83 million lek (USD 830,000) of financial abuses during controls carried out in the first quarter of this year. The damage unveiled in the 47 inspections carried out during the beginning of this year belongs to the 2008-2010 period and was mostly identified in central government institutions. Differently from previous years, the biggest damage in the first quarter of 2011 was identified in procurements at 45.2 million lek, followed by the Ministry of Tourism at 15 million lek, a municipal unit in Tirana, and the water supply and sewerage directorate. Customs and tax officials also abused some 6.5 million lek. High State Audit inspectors filed charges against two tax officials in Elbasan and Durres last February, However, the damage identified during the first quarter of this year is almost one-tenth of financial abuses unveiled during the first quarters from 2006 to 2010. Central and local government institutions abused approximately 1.6 billion lek (16 million dollars) in 2010, mainly in tax and customs collection, as well as expenditure and renting of state-owned property, stated the High State Audit (HSA) in its annual report. This was confirmed by HSA chairman Robert Ceku during a hearing at the parliamentary economy committee where he said that most abuses were identified in the tax and customs administration. “In the tax sector, the HSA identified 533 million lek of abuses, in the customs administration 359 million lek, in public procurements some 188 million lek, in the renting of state-owned property 154 million lek and in the operating expenditure some 23 million lek, altogether 1.6 billion lek,” said Robert Ceku. Addressing MPs at the parliamentary committee, Ceku called on government to give the High State Audit full power to also carry out controls in concessionary contracts, most of which are granted to small hydro-power plants.