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For every payment that will be made by citizens or businesses towards the state, the concession company will keep a commission. This is a huge business. Extra large.
Consider for a moment the situation where a private company controls the entire public payment system of a country. So if a citizen receives a service from a state institution, he must make the payment through the private company. If you require a certificate of ownership in the Cadastre, it must also be passed by the private concessionaire.
This is what the government is doing. Payments for all services that Albanian citizens receive today from e-Albania will be granted with a monopoly concession to a private company. But it doesn't end here. The concession entitles the private company to include the payment of taxes, fees and any other obligations. Potentially the entire state budget.
"The platform must offer the possibility of making payments for all public services, taxes, fees, obligations, etc., to all public authorities," states the feasibility study of the concession.
For every payment that will be made by citizens or businesses towards the state, the concession company will keep a commission. This is a huge business. Extra large.
A monstrous concession
A few days ago, Kapitali.al published the news that the Ministry of Finance has started the procedure for the concession of the infrastructure of public keys. (Read here and here).
Because the whole process is being carried out in secret, the portal had certain information that the concession would contain the fiscalization certificate and the electronic signature, a service that is estimated at around 10 million euros per year.
"The fiscalization certificate and electronic signature are the smallest part of this concession. The biggest lump is the monopoly of the national public payment system," said a well-informed source on the matter on condition of anonymity.
But how big is the concession in value?
"The sky is the limit. This concession can cost 300, 400, 500 million euros in 10 years. But even more. It all depends on the number of services for which the government will oblige the electronic signature or seal. And that has no limits," said the source above.
Beyond that, the value of the concession also depends on the commission that the concession company will impose on the payments that citizens and businesses make in favor of the state.
Preliminary feasibility study
Now Kapitali.al has more extensive documentation, including the preliminary study of the feasibility of the concession and the invitation to bid that the Ministry of Finance has sent to 6 Albanian companies.
It is about the companies Fastech, Horizon, BNT Electronics, Image & Communications Development, Communications Progress and Soft & Solutions.
The latter is the favorite company to get hold of the multibillionaire concession, which makes all health concessions together look like stall businesses. The Ministry of Finance's invitation to 6 companies states:
"As above, we request your economic offer for the price/unit in Lek (without/with VAT) according to the specifications of the equipment/services in question. Send us the requested information by 27.09.2023."
Kapitali.al officially addressed the Ministry of Finance for information on whether the companies have submitted their preliminary offers by September 27, as stated in the invitation, but by the time of publishing this article, it could not receive an official answer.
But these are details that now matter little. It is certain that a monstrous concession has already begun to be officially conceived, quietly and away from the public eye.
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