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This is not aid for sports. It is debt repayment between political clients and silent beneficiaries. And through a custom-made law, Albania will have the unique opportunity where the state reimburses a private stadium, built on donated land, owned by people closest to the head of government...
After securing his 9th mandate thanks to Partizan fans, Erion Braçe has made the first political call after the elections: the government should pay for the stadium and private academy of the “Partizani” club. The message distributed today is, in form, correct. But in content, it is a direct lobbying to justify the allocation of millions of public euros for a private investment that is directly linked to Prime Minister Edi Rama’s brother, Olsi Rama, and his close friend, Gaz Demi.
In his statement, Braçe says that the stadium was built 100% with Gaz Demi's funds and that the government "owes" it financial support. But the facts show otherwise. By decision of the Council of Ministers no. 183, dated March 9, 2016, the government donated the "Skënderbej" military sports complex with 37 thousand m² of land and 5,164 m² of buildings to Gaz Demi.
This donation was not symbolic. It was the basis for the construction of the “Partizani” stadium and academy. And according to financial intelligence reports, 50% of the ownership of this investment is owned by Olsi Rama, through an internal contract that does not appear in the NRC, but which has been previously denounced by anti-crime agencies as a de facto partnership relationship.
Now, after the investment was made on a donated public asset, a personalized law is being prepared, which will include direct reimbursement from the state, according to the model of a “national sponsorship for sports”, which in reality is a justification to return 21 million euros in the form of a legalized subsidy. All this, for a club that is not state-owned, is not a federation, is not a public institution, but a joint-stock company with private benefits.
In 2022, the government granted “Partizani JSC” 8 million euros in compensation for Covid damages, even though the company was not a beneficiary of state tenders, as required by the regulatory act. It was a precedent that today serves as an argument for full reimbursement.
Meanwhile, since 2014, the company has not paid any taxes, declares losses every year, and has repeatedly received forgiveness of fines. Now, through Braça's intervention, it is being demanded that the state not only take nothing, but pay everything, as compensation for private investment on forgiven public land.
Braça's request to demolish the "ruins near the academy" in order to pave the way for new construction is not about sports. It is about building new palaces. The remaining 7,000 m² that Rama promised not to give is now at the center of political pressure. And if the law is approved, that land will end up concreted by the same duo: Gaz Demi and Olsi Rama.
This is not aid for sports. It is debt repayment between political clients and silent beneficiaries. And through a custom-made law, Albania will have the unique opportunity where the state reimburses a private stadium, built on donated land, owned by people closest to the head of government./ Pamphlet
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