FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Amid objections and accusations from the opposition, the socialist majority in Tirana City Council raised the green cards to approve the request of the mayor Erjon Veliaj for an additional fund of about 600 million lek [5.6 million euros] for the Sharra landfill, with the argument that 'we are already in emergency conditions'.
According to the report, the payment will be used to pay off the arrears that the municipality has towards the concessionaire company, which was seized by decision of the Special Court and is now administered by the Agency for the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Properties at the Ministry of the Interior.
"Currently, the Municipality of Tirana has exhausted the entire budget plan for the year 2023 for this service, planned according to the relevant commitment," says the short report accompanying the decision, which implies that other obligations had to be covered through government support.
"Referred to above and under emergency conditions, in the face of the announcement by the company about the termination of the waste disposal service, in case of non-payment of obligations, it is necessary for the Municipality of Tirana to cover the obligations for this contract from its own income …,” the report adds further.
The report informs that in the August-September period, the municipality of Tirana communicated with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of the Interior to secure the necessary funds for payments, but does not explain why these funds were blocked.
Even the mayor Erion Veliaj did not give an answer before the Municipal Council on Friday, while passing the questions and accusations of the opposition with jokes and jokes. Presenting as an argument that the Municipality of Kavaja controlled by the opposition had made the payments in August, Veliaj ridiculed the opposition for hypocrisy.
"As you went in thongs, with recipes, in bathrobes, on August 22 you will pay, now we who are dressed in suits will go to pay, because we cannot leave Tirana in the hands of the thugs," he said.
The company Integrated Energy BV SPV was founded in 2017 and since then has billed the municipality of Tirana and other municipalities of the region over 62 million euros, but the incinerator was never built.
Despite this, the government and the Tirana district municipalities continued to make full payments until the eve of the seizure of the concessionaire company by SPAK in early August - when the new state administrator, Arjan Baci, declared that debts had accumulated.
"The municipalities of Tirana district are still debtors to this company, it is the third month that they have not paid off their obligations," Baci said on August 10, while warning that this affected the waste management of the capital and the municipalities around it.
The waste treatment concession contract in Tirana is financed by the municipality and the state budget, which transfers the funds to the municipality of Tirana through the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, which also holds the role of Contracting Authority.
The data provided by BIRN through a right to information request to the Ministry of Finance show that although financial support from the government was predicted in the amount of 1.2 billion lek for 2023, the actual approved payment funds were almost 3 times smaller or 464.4 million ALL for the same period.
The Ministry of Finance also said that it was not the institution that had cut the funds for financing the concession contract, but pointed the finger at the contracting authority, which in this case is the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.
Të njëjtin qëndrim, Ministria e Financave e ka mbajtur edhe në një përgjigje për Bashkinë e Tiranës më 4 shtator, e cila citohet në relacionin e dorëzuar në Këshill Bashkiak se: “Në momentin e vështirësive financiare nga ana e Bashkisë Tiranë, Autoriteti Kontraktor (MIE) është përgjegjës për garantimin e fondeve për kryerjen e pagesave…”.Ministria e Infrastrukturës dhe Energjisë nuk iu përgjigj një kërkese për koment të BIRN mbi arsyet e shkurtimit të fondeve.
Mayor Erion Veliaj has long been at the center of accusations from political opponents for his role in the approval of the waste concession in Tirana and the continuation of payments of 29 euros/ton, although the incineration was not carried out. He left the Council hall on Friday at dinner without giving further clarifications, when he faced the accusations of the opposition councilors, who addressed him ironically as "Mr. Cell". Even the deputy mayor of the Municipality who replaced him, Andi Seferi, did not answer the questions of the opposition councilors.
A long list of questions from Ilir Alimehmeti, seeking explanations on this additional expense and a balance of the municipality with the company that manages the landfill, also went unanswered.
Seferi said the questions were noted and the council would be informed in the future, despite the vote being held overnight/BIRN
Lini një Përgjigje