Vetting
SPAK should have investigated the 2021 state budget
In today's show, "Vetting" will combine the new elements of the prosecution's file with the early denunciation, bringing out for the first time an element that has always been overlooked by SPAK and the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime, violations with the state budget.
The first indications of the affair with the 200 million euro Llogara tunnel project would come from the former director of procurement at the Supreme State Audit Office, Azmi Stringa, with a post on social networks about the approval of the 2021 budget.
"We must understand that the law does not allow for budgetary commitments beyond the approved funds. So, without having the approved and budgeted funds, procurement cannot begin. So the limit fund with VAT should not exceed the budgeted value. Otherwise, the person in charge himself is responsible for paying the financial obligation arising from the commitment, and not the taxpayers," would write from the social platform Meta expert Stringa in December 2020.
But the former director of the Albanian Supreme Audit Institution would reveal a very important detail through numbers, which words cannot manipulate with words.
"Now, according to the tender announcement dated 14.12.2020, the limit fund for this project is 19.1 billion lek without VAT (or 22.9 billion lek with VAT). While in the list of investments accompanying the 2021 budget project, the value of the project with VAT is 18.75 billion lek. So, 4.15 billion lek or about 40 million dollars more than the budgeted value of the project", economic expert Stringa would reveal from the social platform.
Following the status published in December 2020, expert Stringa would raise questions about where the violation was in this case, was the procedure declared in violation of the law or was the budget drafted in violation of the law?
In fact, the alarm raised by a former public administration official about possible violations with the state budget would be confirmed by "Vetting" in the April 2024 episode. The documentary would expose the fact that with the signature of Deputy Prime Minister Balluku, tens of millions of euros of funds would be transferred for the most expensive infrastructure projects in Europe, in the poorest country on the continent. Legal violations with the state budget are evidenced by the official report of the Supreme State Audit conducted at the Ministry of Finance.
Specifically, on December 1, 2022, through normative act no. 17, in an unprecedented manner, in her capacity as Deputy Prime Minister, Belinda Balluku would approve changes to the state budget to add 5 billion lek or 50 million euros to the portfolio of the ministry she headed.
According to the Supreme State Audit Office, it has been found that the approval of normative acts was made beyond the deadline and without detailed analysis by the Ministry of Finance, but that responsibilities in this case also fall on Deputy Prime Minister Balluku.
Even more so, when these 50 million euros were transferred to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, for projects such as Rruga e Arbri and Tunneli i Llogara, both projects of the company "Gjoka Konstruksion".
But what does the Constitution say about normative acts?
According to Article 101 of the Constitution of Albania "The Council of Ministers, in case of need and urgency, under its own responsibility, may issue normative acts that have the force of law, for the adoption of temporary measures."
So, the normative acts include emergency needs such as pandemics, energy crises or natural disasters. In April 2022, Albania officially lifted the 2019 anti-covid measures, while additions to the Ministry of Infrastructure's portfolio for road projects raise questions about how the normative act is being used.
Some of the projects that have been affected and favored by these changes are related to the company "Gjoka Konstruksion", in the case of the Llogara tunnel.
The auditors found at least 20 cases worth about ALL 2.7 billion of registration and partial payments of invoices, which are smaller than the declared value. According to KLSH, this method of payments presents difficulties in identifying the real value requested and these constitute actions, which do not provide certainty for the real value of reported expenses or investments.
According to the audit, these practices are in violation of Law No. 9936 dated 26.6.2008 “On the Implementation of the Budget System in the Republic of Albania”, as amended, where the recognition of the expenditure is made at the time of ascertainment and its payment is made within 30 days.
The report reveals that one of the payments that was made partially in violation of the law is related to transfers for the construction of the Llogara tunnel.
