Study visit to the Republic of Albania

Venue: Republic of Albania
Date: 10–13 February 2013

Topic:

• Reforms in the Republic of Albania – Local Government in the face of challenges and the prospect of European integration

• Lecturers / Speakers

Sokol Olldashi, Minister of Public Works and Transport

Sokol Dedja, Adviser to Minister Majlinda Bregu

Lulzim Basha, Mayor of Tirana

Xhelal Mziu, Mayor of Kamza

Visits:

Visit to the Ministry of Public Works of the Republic of Albania; visit to the Ministry of Integration of the Republic of Albania; visit to the Municipality of Tirana;

On the study visit to Albania organised by the Local Governance Academy

Within the framework of the Local Governance Academy module, a study visit programme to the Republic of Albania was organised from 10 to 13 February 2013. The purpose of this study visit was to hold discussions with local and central government officials in the Republic of Albania in order to learn about the developments and reforms the Republic of Albania has undertaken during the European integration process.

The visit included several activities, such as:

• A meeting with the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mr Sokol Olldashi, and his staff, at which many issues concerning the functioning of this ministry were discussed, with particular emphasis on the form of public investment in Albania, the criteria for allocating funds, and this ministry’s priorities for this fiscal year in relation to local government in Albania;

• A visit to the Ministry of Integration: the meeting with this ministry’s staff discussed Albania’s European agenda and the extent to which Albania has met the criteria for joining the EU, and the officials focused on explaining the procedures for obtaining EU funds;

• A visit to the Municipality of Tirana: the meeting with the Mayor, Mr Lulzim Basha, and his staff was a fruitful discussion, in which Mr Basha first gave a short history of Tirana and then focused on the city’s economic potential, the investments being made and the revenue being collected. I believe one element of his talk is worth singling out: he stressed that Tirana generates over 42% of revenue at the national level.

Sokol Olldashi, Minister of Public Works and Transport

The central and local levels are linked in many respects, but the most important is the Investment Committee, made up of mayors, the heads of the regions, the line minister, etc. Minister Olldashi presented the development of transport nationwide (Albania), informing those present that the development of transport is a necessity of the times and that the Albanian state has given high priority to improving the transport system. The transport system consists of road, rail, maritime and air transport.

He also presented the main transport corridors, stressing that through its geographical position Albania is part of several transport corridors serving the movement of goods and passengers and tourist services. Among the main corridors he highlighted: the East–West Corridor (Pan-European Corridor VIII – (Durrës–Tirana); Vlora–Rrogozhina–Elbasan–Qafë Thana, etc.

He informed those present that the air and road transport sectors have grown considerably, the latter reaching a level of around 85%. He also stressed that maritime transport, as one of the most economical sectors of the transport system, handles the largest share of services for the import and export of goods to and from our country and for transit; an important role is played by the Port of Durrës, which accounts for the largest share, around 78% of the total volume, followed by the ports of Vlora, Shëngjin and Saranda.

He stressed that, in Albania’s efforts towards EU integration as a candidate country, work is under way across all transport components to carry out comprehensive transport reforms, including economic, legal and institutional reforms, supported by studies, projects and the assistance of local and foreign consultants.

He also highlighted the investments the government is making in building a specialised port for processing fuels and liquefied gas at Porto Romano, the Elbasan Road, the Port of Saranda, and the main road artery linking Hani i Hotit and Kakavija, etc.

Lulzim Basha, Mayor of Tirana

He informed those present about the organisation and functioning of the Municipality of Tirana; Tirana was proclaimed the capital of Albania by the Congress of Lushnja. The Municipality of Tirana operates under the Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the Municipality of Tirana, which sets out the duties and responsibilities of the mayor, the municipal council and the 11 municipal units.

The Mayor stressed that the Municipality of Tirana’s planning and management policies aim at:

• Reducing staff costs;
• Reducing administrative costs in favour of funds for services to citizens;
• Full transparency in the use of public funds;
• Greater efficiency in the administration of funds;
• A higher level of investment
• Economic development and employment
• Housing and planning

The Mayor stressed that staff costs have fallen significantly compared with previous years, from a share of 40% in 2010 to 25% in 2012. In business development, importance had been given to creating a friendly climate for domestic businesses by simplifying administrative procedures and offering an online application system; he also highlighted the measures taken for foreign businesses to simplify procedures, including creating a secure environment for investment in Albania through fiscal reforms for fair competition.

In addition to supporting businesses through loan programmes, priority had also been given to public–private partnership reforms. The Municipality of Tirana generates the largest share of the country’s budget revenue, around 80%; therefore, the measures taken will create better conditions for the development of small, medium-sized and large enterprises. The Municipality of Tirana had given priority to increasing public spaces, cleaning the city and investing in a programme to improve the technology of public services, for which approximately 32% of the Municipality of Tirana’s budget has been allocated. Investment in improving roads and public transport (great importance had been given to public transport), investment in opening new road axes in the city, its entry and exit points, overpasses and underpasses, underground car parks and road asphalting, as well as setting up an online-monitored traffic management system. The Mayor of Tirana also highlighted the project to build Tirana’s Grand Ring Road, a project that will have a major impact in relieving the centre of the large number of cars. He stressed that the Ministry of Transport had previously calculated the monetary value with which every person affected by this segment will be compensated; expropriation accounts for a very large sum of money. It was stressed that, in addition to these capital investments, there are also investments in pre-university education and schooling (building schools and kindergartens, reconstruction), but the Municipality of Tirana pays particular attention to social policies through three social programmes provided for by law. Applications under the social programmes include applications for low-cost housing, social rental housing, and land equipped with infrastructure. Investment in delivering projects for culture, youth and sport.

Sokol Dedja, Adviser to Minister Majlinda Bregu

Sokol Dedja’s talk focused on Albania’s policy in relation to the EU and on meeting the EU criteria for a candidate country (administrative, political, legal and economic). Importance was also given to IPA funds, such as for cross-border cooperation; the northern part of Albania had won a large number of cooperation funds, but so far there had been no cross-border cooperation with Kosovo in particular; projects were being implemented with Montenegro and Macedonia, and in the future it remains for Kosovo to be included in a joint project as well.