TIRANA, Feb 18 – World Bank President Robert Zoellick acknowledged that “Bank’s record with this project is appalling.”
He was referring to the Jale home demolitions that have recently turned into a scandal in Albania.
In June 2005, the World Bank officially approved a $17.5 million loan to be disbursed by the International Development Association (IDA), an arm of the World Bank Group, for the Coastal Zones Integrated Management and Clean-Up Project in Albania. The project, which totaled $38.56 million, was also directly financed by donors such as the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the governments of Albania, the Netherlands, Austria and Japan. The project, meant to last through March of 2010, sought to address a number of social, environmental and economic issues of the southern and central coast of Albania.
The coastal community of Jale, part of the village of Vuno, in the Vlora district of southwestern Albania, was directly affected by the IDA project on April 17, 2007, when a number of its houses were demolished by Albania’s Construction Police. Although the structures in question were illegally built, the residents’ applications for legalization during prior years were answered inconclusively and the authorities did not allow for the villagers’ appeal to go to court after announcing the houses’ demolition a month earlier. During and after the demolition process, residents of Jale were repeatedly told that the World Bank project was the driving force behind the demolitions; prompting an official request in July of 2007 from the residents to the Bank’s complaint investigative body, the Inspection Panel, to review their claim of having “suffered as a result of the World Bank’s failures and oversights.”
The Inspection Panel presented its report on December 1, 2008. The project was suspended by Bank Management on January 9, 2009. On Tuesday the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors made several important decisions on the Bank’s involvement in the April 2007 incident.
In response to the Inspection Panel report, the Board acknowledged serious errors in project preparation, supervision and communication. The Bank Board also considered a management report and action plan to address the issue.
The Board’s action plan calls for a legal review of each case of the Jale demolitions – and an independent observer to monitor and report back to the bank. In addition, the Plan will include payment of legal aid for the review of each of the requesters’ claims and Bank management supervision of a social and vulnerability assessment, with a retroactive application of assistance packages to the poor or vulnerable affected by the demolitions.
The World Bank has officially acknowledged a series of errors during the project; such as project preparation, presentation to the Board and project supervision. The Board also agreed with the Inspection Panel’s findings on the relevance of the Bank’s Involuntary Resettlement Policy in the Albania Project and the ambiguous nature of the Bank’s provisions of these and other policies. The Board has promised to review the application of its social and environmental policies in projects in the future.
The Inspection Panel’s mandate “does not include the investigation of allegations of corruption.” But Zoellick has asked the acting General Counsel to review the September 2008 Corrigendum and for the Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) to lead an Accountability Review into the allegations of misinformation on the part of Bank staff members regarding the project in Albania.
Zoellick stated that “the Bank’s record with this project is appallingƷe are moving promptly to strengthen oversight, improve procedures, and help the families who had their buildings demolished.” Zoellick added that “The Bank cannot let this happen again.”
REACTIONS TO THE WB REPORT
On the national level the controversy has also involved prominent Albanian politicians such as Prime Minister Sali Berisha, his son-in-law Jamarber Malltezi (who directed the project coordination unit) and the then Minister of Transportation (now Minister of Foreign Affairs), Lulzim Basha, who, in conjunction with the World Bank have been accused of pressuring the local authorities to demolish Jale houses. The political figures have denied making any special deals with the Bank or having a hand in any future lucrative commercial development projects in the region.
Ministry of Transports: The project will continue
The Ministry of Transport reacted on Wednesday to the report published by the World Bank in relation to the Jale Project. The MT spokeswoman, Erla Mehilli, said in a press conference that the problems in this project were a matter of inside politics and procedures of the WB itself.
“The declaration of the WB, made public yesterday (17 Tuesday 2009) reconfirm our declarations and the fact that the problems concerning the “Coastal Zones Integrated Management and Clean-Up Project” are an inside problem of the World Bank. The press release gives a solid clarification that these problems are a matter of compatibility in the WB’s own politics and procedures since the conception of the project in 2004 and on. They have no connection with the Government or the Project Coordination Office,” said the spokeswoman.
In addition, Mehilli stated that Ministry of Transport considers the project very successful and for that reason it will continue.
“The Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has decided that the project will continue in all its components.” She added that the project in question is being supported by the modernization of the Saranda Port, the renovation of water supply and irrigation networks in Saranda and Himara, the development of a landfill for the Ionian Coast, and 12 other projects involving roads and water supply systems in every Ionian village, from Orikum to Nivica.
Berisha: World Bank inspection connected to Mafia
Premier Berisha accused the World Bank segments of corruption after the report was released on Tuesday by the Investigation Panel of the WB in relation to the Jale Project, part of a safeguard project for the whole Albanian Riviera. Also, Berisha accused Edi Rama, leader of the Socialist Party, currently in the head of the main opposition party, as the chief instrument of corruption behind the Jale issue. According to Berisha, the Albanian government has developed the project according to Albanian law, but the Albanian mafia has managed to somehow interfere.
“There is a construction mafia coalition connected with the Inspection Panel and the Albanian government reserves the full right to follow up and investigate this case of corruption to the very end. The Panel has never had and doesn’t have a mandate other than to investigate the activity of the WB. The Albanian part of the Panel has been corrupted,” said Berisha. But the premier, also put part of the blame on the local authorities in the southwestern beach area.
Also, the Premier accused the media of being used by the same alleged construction mafia to undermine the government’s work. According to him, the project of the Albanian coast, including the Jale Project, is the most transparent project ever undertaken by an Albanian government and it has put an end to all potential illegal deals regarding the southern region.
Malltezi: There are clans within the World Bank
The head of Project Coordination Office for the World Bank, Jamarber Malltezi, has denied any responsibility for the demolitions in Jale Beach. At the same time, he insisted that there are clans within the World Bank fighting with each other and that the Albanian government cannot possibly be held responsible for such a power struggle. In an interview with the Voice of America, Malltezi declared that there was no plan in the Bank’s project to demolish structures in the Jale Beach and he never ordered the construction police the “go ahead” order for the demolitions.
Malltezi stated that demolishing buildings in Jale Beach was part of an Ionian Coast wide campaign in the last years to demolish illegal buildings. According to Malltezi, there have been 400 illegal buildings demolished during 2004-2007 and all were done according to the law.
In addition, Malltezi insisted that the Bank should apologize to the locals and that it is also responsible for their compensation, something that didn’t figure in with the WB’s plans for the project.
He concluded that Albania cannot suspend the project because of Bank’s internal problems and mistakes. Despite the latest developments, the project is considered very successful and therefore there’s no reason for why it should not continue.
