“MODERN DIPLOMACY” – Shqipëria nën zgjedhën e oligarkëve në ngjitje

Viti i Ri do të jetë vit zgjedhjesh në Shqipëri, ndërsa Edi Rama dhe njerëzit e qeverisë së tij kanë mbledhur shuma të mëdha parash në xhepat e tyre, duke planifikuar të futin edhe staf shtesë në zyrat e qeverisë, një veprim që do t’u kushtojë shtrenjt taksapaguesve. Në 2017, vitin e fundit të tij në detyrë, Rama dhe njerëzit e tij pritet të vazhdojnë jetën luksoze (në vend dhe jashtë) ndërsa banorët e Shqipërisë jetojnë në kushtet më të këqija të këtyre 20 viteve tranzicion demokratik.

Parlamenti miratoi buxhetin 2017 dhe ui akordoi valixhe të tjera me parà, përveç miliona Eurove të gjeneruara nga kultivimi i marihuanës nga Vermoshi në Konispol, zotit Rama me ministrave të tij t ëkorruptuar, që e kanë fshehur pasurinë jashtë dhe numërohen sot mes oligarkëve më ët pasur të Evropës.

Sipas një vlerësimi të OSBE-së, Rama ka mbledhur 200 milionë dollarë pasuri, e cila u rrit proporcionalisht gjatë këtij viti të fundit si kryeministër, duke konsideruar se ai merr gati 20% për çdo projekt publik që miraton dhe ekzekutohet nga kompanitë e besuara private në infrastrukturë, punë publike, shëndetësi dhe teknologji informacioni. Sipas Panama Papers dhe burimeve të tjera të besuara, Rama e ka shpërndarë pasurinë në llogari bankare ndërkombëtare të hapura nga rrethi i tij familjar dhe miqtë e ngushtë që punojnë bashkë në projekte dhe që janë të lidhur me ekonomistin venezuelas Ricardo Hausmann, projekte që nuk kanë të bëjnë fare me përmirësimin e jetës së shqiptarëve.

Në 2017, kryeministria do të numërojë 641 punonjës, kurse parlamenti ka një staf me 405 nëpunës që organizojnë aktivitetet e 140 deputetëve. Kryeministria ka më tepër punonjës se ministria e ekonomisë (580 punonjës) apo e Transportit (440), e punëve të jashtme (506 përfshi misionet diplomatike). Ndërkaq, buxheti i kryeministrisë është 27,6 milion Euro dhe, për krahasim, buxheti i presidencës është vetëm 1,5 milion Euro.

Jeta luksoze e kryeministrit shqiptar mbështetet jo vetëm te numri i madh i punonjësve, por edhe te shumat që shpenzon në një vit fiskal, gati 28 milionë Euro, sa pagesa e 1200 pensionistëve apo sa 10 mijë bursa shkollore. Çdo person i stafit të kryeministrit shpenzon 43,000 Euro në vit, por Rama shpenzon të shpenzojë edhe më. Një milion Euro janë planifikuar për qira makinash luksoze, një sasi parash me të cilat blihen 20 makina të brezit më të fundit nga Mercedes Benz, si dhe 6,6 milionë Euro për orendi e rimodelime.

Ndërveprimi i qeverisë Rama me qytetarët është më i akullt se kurrë më parë, dëshmi kjo e qëndrimit të saj ndaj varfërisë në vend, një sjellje që shkel konceptin e Çalrs Horton Kulej të “Vetes që shihet nga pasqyra”, që do të thotë se Shqipëria përfaqëson një pasqyrë në të cilën shihet administrata e Tiranës, e cila rregullon sjelljen sipas sjelljes së anëtarëve të shoqërisë. Në nivelin marramendës të shpenzimeve të Ramës, kërkesat e qytetarëve duken të pakuptimta, lëre pastaj të jenë burim reflektimi.

Albania: under the yolk of its rising oligarchs
BY PETER TASE

The New Year will be an elections season for Albania and its people, meanwhile Mr. Edi Rama and his government confidants have allocated large sums of money in their own pockets and plan to feast a large number of staffers in the Prime Minister’s office that will cost dearly to Albania’s tax payers. In 2017, his last year in office, Mr. Rama and his associates are expected to continue with their luxurious life (at home and abroad) while their fellow countrymen are living at the worst conditions ever experienced over the last twenty six years in their transitional democracy system.

As the Albanian Parliament approved the National Budget for 2017, it supplied many more suitcases – in addition to the millions of Euros generated by massive marihuana farming from Vermosh to Konispol – filled with the money paid by Albania’s tax payers, to Mr. Edi Rama and his corrupt ministers, who have stashed their wealth abroad and continue to be ranked as Europe’s richest oligarchs.

According to an estimate conducted last year by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Mr. Rama has amassed a net worth of over US$ 200 million, an amount that has certainly and proportionately grown during the third year of his term as Prime Minister considering that he receives at least twenty percent as a commission from the total amount of every public project that is executed by his trusted private companies who acquire public bids in the sectors of: infrastructure development, public works, health services and information technology. According to Panama Papers and other reliable sources, Mr. Rama’s wealth is deposited on international banking accounts established by his family circle and close associates that work together on sustainable development projects in Albania who have been deeply involved with the Venezuelan economist Ricardo Hausmann, projects that have had little to none impact on the lives of average Albanians. Mr. Anastas Angjeli, Edi Rama’s close associate, Albanian MP and a Former Minister of Public Finances, drives a brand new Audi A8 in the streets of Tirana. Moreover, Mr. Taulant Balla, another member of Albanian Parliament, is responsible for employment opportunities in the current Albanian Government; he has established a fee of two thousand Euros to be paid beforehand by every candidate who aspires to be a public servant. On the other hand, Mr. Genti Gazheli, Mr. Edi Rama’s envoy to the Republic of Turkey, has a tarnished record from his service in Albania’s border customs Agency, a time when he would repeatedly hide large sums of money on his boot socks whenever he had an opportunity to allow large shipments of commodities to enter Albanian territory thus avoiding payment of taxes by his random ‘clients’.

In 2017, the Prime Minister’s office will see the faces of 641 new employees, meanwhile in the National Assembly there are only 405 staffers who help organize the daily activities for 140 Members of Parliament, including its Speaker and three Deputy Speakers. The Prime Minister’s office has more employees than: the Ministry of Economy (with over 580 employees); Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (with less than 440 employees); the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (with 506 employees including its diplomatic missions abroad); the Ministry of Integration (composed by 113 employees).

While Mr. Rama’s number of staff members will reach over 640, Albanian President’s support staff does not exceed seventy six; moreover the Prime Minister’s annual budget is over 27.6 million Euros and the President’s Budget is barely 1.5 Million Euros.
The luxurious life of Albania’s Prime Minister is not only based on the large number of servants that are in his courtyard, he will enjoy large sums of money to be spent over the new fiscal year, almost 28 million Euros, an amount that is equal to the salary of 1,200 Albanian retirees or the equivalent of ten thousand university scholarships abroad. Every employee in the Prime Minister’s Office will spend approximately 43 thousand Euros per year (or 3,600 Euros/month) said in other words, every staffer in Mr. Rama’s cabinet will cost to Albanian taxpayers an equal amount that is needed to pay twenty retirement salaries every month.

Moreover, Mr. Rama has plans to spend over one million Euros to rent luxurious cars, an amount that is equivalent to twenty vehicles (latest generation) from Mercedes Benz factory; for their government offices there will be spent an additional 6.6 million Euros in furniture, remodeling and other maintenance expenses.
The Interaction between Mr. Rama’s Government and Albanian Citizens is as chilling as ever before; it is a testimony of Tirana’s attitude towards handling the nation’s overwhelming poverty, a behavior that violates the well known concept of Charles Horton Cooley, “the Looking Glass Self” while suggesting that Albanians represent a glass that is viewed by Tirana’s administration and the latter reacts according to the conduct of its constituents. On Mr. Rama’s glamorous level of personal expenses we see that his constituents’ persistent responses are meaningless let alone being a source of reflection and humbleness.