FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Prime Minister Edi Rama presented him as "a model of a young man who brings results from difficult communities". But Andis Salla, appointed Minister of Agriculture in September 2025, does not come with agricultural expertise, but with the CV of a criminal lawyer and former prison director. He also comes with a signature on a dubious waste contract in Cërrik, and with a 361 m² building declared as a "donation" without a donor. Meanwhile, the heaviest financial file of post-communist Albania awaits him on his new desk: 146 million euros blocked by Brussels and 52 cases of fraud documented by OLAF.
After spending six years as mayor of Cerrik, one of the poorest municipalities in the country, Prime Minister Edi Rama has brought Andis Salla to the top of the government, entrusting him with the Ministry of Agriculture at the very moment when SPAK is investigating the agency he now heads. This is the profile of an appointment that defies any meritocratic logic, but which serves a single purpose: changing the face without changing the system.
FROM LAWYER PUBLIC TO MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, WITH DETENTION IN CERRIK
Andis Salla has no professional connection to agriculture or rural development. He studied criminal justice, worked as a lawyer and headed the Institution for the Execution of Criminal Decisions in Elbasan. His appointments have always come from the structures of the Socialist Party in Elbasan, not from any meritocratic competition.
In August 2019, Salla was elected mayor of Cërrik. During his six years in office, his signature is on a decision that is now being investigated by the Elbasan Prosecutor's Office for abuse of office and passive corruption.
It concerns the amendment of the contract with the company "ECO-ELB", the company that administers the waste service in the Elbasan Region and which is associated with the director Leli Kaja. In May 2025, together with seven other mayors of the region, Salla signed the amendment to the contract: the municipalities removed the obligation of "ECO-ELB" for the incineration service, but at the same time increased the payment price.
The irony? The Elbasan incinerator has not been operating for years. However, municipalities have continued to pay millions of lek for the incineration of waste as if it existed. The Municipality of Elbasan alone has paid "ECO-ELB" over 1.7 billion old lek in the last two years. The Municipality of Cërrik e Salla was among the signatories of this contract. The Elbasan Prosecutor's Office has deepened the investigations, targeting the legal directors, finance chiefs and company officials.
DARK WEALTH: 361 M² BUILDING AND "DONOR" WITHOUT A DONOR
The pamphlet has analyzed Andis Salla's official asset declarations to the HIDAKKI for the period 2019-2024. What emerges is a classic scheme of unexplained enrichment.
In 2019, when he began his term as mayor, Salla declared zero real estate. Salary income: 386,454 lek for five months. Bank balance: 344,424 lek.
In 2023, the leap occurs. Salla declares for the first time a real estate asset: a 361 square meter building, worth 8,987,095 lekë (about 88,000 euros). As the source of creation, he notes a single word: "Donation".
Who is the donor? The declaration does not say. Is there a notarial deed of donation? It is unknown. What is this object and where exactly is it located? The public has not yet learned.
In the same year, Salla increased his bank balance by an additional 2,148,760 lek. In 2024, his accounts were increased by another 2,871,794 lek, with the declared source being "salary income." But his annual salary as mayor was about 1.7 million lek gross. The math doesn't add up.
THE MINISTRY'S LEGACY: 146 MILLION EUROS BLOCKED AND A KNOCK AT THE DOOR
When Salla was sworn in as minister in September 2025, he inherited not a normal department, but the epicenter of the biggest financial scandal Albania has ever had with the European Union.
IPARD II and III funds have been blocked since July 2023, after OLAF documented 52 cases of fraud and demanded 35 million euros back. The scheme was systematic: applicants were forced to pay pre-determined consulting companies; grants went to politically connected people; in one case, a farm grant ended up as a villa in Dhërmi.
AZHBR, the agency that administers these funds, is directly subordinate to the minister. SPAK is investigating on the basis of OLAF materials. In March 2026, former minister Frida Krifca was questioned by the head of SPAK. In April 2026, businessman Reni Ashiku, administrator of "Converse Management Consulting", was charged.
Salla finds himself in an unprecedented position: he heads a ministry and agency that are the subject of an active criminal investigation. The institutional conflict is blatant.
LIES TO PARLIAMENT AND BRUSSELS' SILENCE
In February 2026, from the Parliament podium, Salla confidently declared: "Within the first 6 months, we will have IPARD III. 146 million euros will be available to farmers."
The European Commission has not issued any statement confirming this deadline. On the contrary, the EC spokesperson for agriculture has clarified that the suspension of payments remains in force until further official notice and that there is no set date. After Salla's visit to Brussels on March 9, 2026, no official statement was issued by the European side.
This is a well-known government practice: announcing optimistic deadlines without any official European document behind them. Salla has mastered this model meticulously. He is lying to the Albanian parliament by selling farmers false hopes for funds that Brussels has no intention of releasing until SPAK investigations are completed and corrective measures are met.
QUESTIONS THAT MINISTER SALLA MUST ANSWER PUBLICLY
1. On IPARD: Which official document of the European Commission confirms that the funds will be released "within the first 6 months"? If such a document does not exist, why did he lie to the Parliament?
2. On the conflict of interest: How can he guarantee the independence of SPAK's investigations into AZHBR, when he himself is the direct superior of the agency under investigation?
3. On the ECO-ELB contract: How much did the Municipality of Cërrik pay for waste incineration during the period when the incinerator was not functioning? What specific service was provided?
4. On the 361 m² building: Who donated this property worth 8.9 million lek? Where is it located exactly? Is there a notarial deed of donation and why has the name of the donor not been made public?... (continued) /Pamphlet
Tani u kujtuat per fshataret e maloket t'i tregoni emrin, se vendin nuk ua tregoni dot? Eshte shume vone. Merruani ketyre parate te rrisni standardin e jeteses e jo na beni show me "Shoqata Diasporash". Diaspora eshte kerrusur nga puna e rende per te mbijetuar dhe sic ka qene e percare ne kohen e qenit nga "biografia" u perca shume me keq, nga "pluralizmi", lufta e klasave te vjetra e te reja, feja, krahinat, grykesia, imoraliteti, ligji 7501. Nuk pame nje Shqiptar te Shqiperise e te Kosoves ta ndihmojne njeri tjetrin, sepse jane keto qe thashe me siper mes nesh. Mer e bukura eshte kur degjojme halete e Parlamentit kur perbuzin ndonje koleg apo kundershtar e thone, ai ka qene emigrant, sikur te jete nje cope mut. Pervec tokes e varreve nuk i bie ne mend askujt per ata qe shkaterruan kombin e po e cojne drejt zhdukjes.