FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In Albania, 4 years after the earthquake that caused 51 deaths and more than 1 billion euros in damages, the responsibilities for the damages remain unclear. The suspected perpetrators of abuses that are thought to have deepened the consequences of this natural disaster, in some cases have not yet been discovered, while for the most part they continue to face justice. According to the documents obtained by the Voice of America from the investigation and trial processes, dozens of officials and former local officials are accused of abuse of office, falsification of documents and manslaughter. Meanwhile, the reconstruction program has been accompanied by criticism of the tendering procedures.
The investigative processes launched in Albania after the deadly earthquake of November 2019, according to a Voice of America analysis, give an unclear picture of the legal responsibilities for some of the destroyed housing.
The earthquake caused 51 victims, 50 of which in Durrës and Krujë. In both cities, investigations were launched into suspicions of abuses by local officials, builders and engineers.
The highest official facing justice for these consequences is Vangjush Dako, the former mayor of Durrës Municipality. He was arrested in June of this year and is accused by SPAK of abuse of office related to the procedures for the construction of a building damaged by the earthquake. Together with him in the special court, the prosecution sent the builder as well as several officials and former officials of the municipality of Durrës for trial.
According to the documents obtained by the Voice of America, the prosecutor's office of Durrës and Kruja have investigated about 20 defendants under charges of abuse of office, falsification of documents and manslaughter.
In the area of Durrës, where 26 citizens lost their lives, the prosecution sent 16 people for trial.
From the data of the trial files, among them are a number of officials, in the legalization sector, construction inspection, cadastre, as well as builders and engineers. The prosecution asked for prison terms for all of them. The court left this measure only for 4 defendants, while for the other 12, during the investigations, it decided to present themselves.
The prosecutor's office had requested punishments from 1 to two years in prison for the 16 defendants. Today it turns out that 4 of them were declared innocent and 5 guilty. Of the convicts, only two have served prison sentences at the request of the prosecution, while for the other three, the court decided on probation or forced labor. These decisions have been appealed both by the individuals and by the prosecution.
For the other 7 accused, the investigations for two have been suspended due to the investigation in absentia, two have passed away and for the other two, the trial has not yet been completed at the first instance in Durrës. As for the 7th suspect, the investigations have been stopped.
In the Court of Appeal, today there is a voluminous file related to this issue and the chances that it will be reviewed are few due to the high number of files, over 37 thousand awaiting review.
"For me it is a closed issue. There are 37,000 files in the Court of Appeal. This court is in no rush to consider these cases, when there are dozens of others where prison terms are at stake for people in the world of crime, or when there are interests of children or elderly people, who can expect certain aspects from the court . I think that there will be no surprises, both in the decision of the Court of Appeal, and in the Supreme Court" - Klodiana Lala, journalist, said for the Voice of America.
The next area most damaged by the earthquake was Thumana with 24 victims. The prosecutor's office of Kruja also registered 12 criminal proceedings.
One of them is related to the responsibility for the collapse of two buildings in Thumana where 24 people lost their lives. This case is under investigation and no one has been charged yet.
"There was a strong suspicion that the two buildings could have been damaged by the September earthquake of the same year. This was never accepted by the institutions. It is an investigation that has not yet yielded results" - continued Klodiana Lala, journalist.
Even for 5 other proceedings related to the damage to several buildings and a school in the area of Kruja, they still do not have an author.
5 criminal proceedings have been dismissed, while the investigation and trial continues for a proceeding involving 5 citizens, who are accused of abuse of office and falsification of documents.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office of Tirana, where only one victim from the earthquake was registered, has investigated over 40 people and has sent 14 of them to trial as well as 4 construction companies for construction without permission, falsification of documents and fraud.
But even 4 years after the earthquake, the suspected perpetrators of the abuses that are thought to have deepened the consequences of this natural disaster, in some cases have not yet been discovered, while for the most part they continue to face justice.
In addition to the victims, the earthquake also caused an economic damage of more than 1 billion euros, almost a quarter of the 2019 state budget.
In February 2020, the donor conference in Brussels offered 1 billion and 115 million euros, aid and loans to cope with the consequences of the earthquake in Albania.
The Albanian government passed a special law and established a new Ministry of Reconstruction to lead the program, which includes rebuilding the destroyed buildings.
It was headed by Arben Ahmetaj, until July 2022 when he was dismissed from the position of Deputy. Prime Minister. The reconstruction program was transferred to the Ministry of Infrastructure. Mr. Ahmetaj is wanted internationally under charges from SPAK for corruption, money laundering, and concealment of wealth. Investigations against him started for the case of incinerators.
Sipas të dhënave zyrtare, kostoja totale e rindërtimit është llogaritur rreth 117 miliardë lekë ( rreth1 miliardë euro), prej tyre janë disbursuar rreth 80.6 miliardë lekë ( rreth 660 milionë euro) nga buxheti i shtetit ku përfshihen dhe 2.5 miliardë lekë grante të huaja ( rreth 21 milionë euro). Ndërkaq 8.5 miliardë lekë (mbi 70 milionë euro) janë paguar për bonusin e qerasë për familjet e dëmtuara.
Përfaqësues të opozitës janë kritikë dhe thonë se qeveria nuk arriti të thithë fonde mjaftueshëm nga konferenca e donatorëve.
“ Nga qeveria shqiptare ka patur mungesë angazhimi, mungesë dëshire le të themi dhe arrogancë për të marrë këto fonde me kredi të buta me norma interesi të buta duke preferuar të tenderonte nga buxheti i shtetit”- u shpreh për Zërin e Amerikës Jorida Tabaku, deputete e PD.
Gjatë një interpelance në parlament në mars të këtij viti Ministrja e Financave në atë kohë Delina Ibrahimaj shpjegoi arsyet e financimit më së shumti nga buxheti i shtetit për programin e rindërtimit.
“ Ne nuk i kemi thënë jo kredive. Shumica e kredive që u vunë në dispozicion në konferencën e donatorëve ishin kredi që do të rialokoheshin drejt rindërtimit. Një nga arsyet pse proçesi i rindërtimit u financua nga fondet e buxhetit të shtetit lidhej me nevojën për të ndërhyrë në mënyrë emergjente”- argumentoi Delina Ibrahimaj, Ministrja e Financave dhe Ekonomisë në mars të këtij viti.
Nga ana tjetër ekspertë të financave publike i kanë kritikuar proçedurat e përshpejtuara për tenderat e programit të rindërtimit, që sipas tyre shmangin garën dhe rrisin mundësinë për klientelizëm. Open Data
Albania e mbështetur nga 28 deputetë të opozitës e paditi në Gjykatë Kushtetuese aktin normativ me fuqinë e ligjit ku mbështetej ky program, por gjykata në korrik të vitit 2022 nuk kishte numrin e mjaftueshëm të gjyqtarëve për vendimarrje dhe ankesa u konsiderua e rrëzuar. Zyrtarët nuk i pranojnë kritikat se në proçesin e tenderimeve për programin e rindërtimit ka favorizime dhe klientelizëm, por disa zhvillime të kohëve të fundit në fushën e hetimit hedhin dyshime të reja.
Në aktin normativ parashikohet skualifikimi e çdo operatori ekonomik nëse është ose ka qenë dënuar me vendim të formës së prerë për një sërë veprash penale përfshirë edhe krimet në fushën e narkotikëve. Por ky parashikim në ligj, siç shprehet drejtorja ekzekutive e Open Data Albania Aranita Brahaj, dyshohet se është shkelur.
"SPAK has given a decision, an order and the court has approved it. It is the case of a citizen in international search. He was convicted in Spain for organized crime and international drug trafficking, who had businesses in Albania. At the moment when the reconstruction tenders started, this company won several important contracts in two main municipalities of the country. Also during this year we have another lawsuit, which went to SPAK from DP. There is a large number of reconstruction tenders listed there and it asks the prosecution to investigate if here we are in the conditions where the money from public contracts has been used to help companies, which are in business and to clean the products of criminal offenses"- said Aranita Brahaj, executive director of Open Data Albania, for VOA.
The reconstruction program has not yet been completed and as the authorities announce, 80% of the funds provided for it have been disbursed. Asked by the Voice of America about a deadline for when it is expected to be completed, officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure said that it is dynamic and that they cannot predict a deadline. / VOA
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