Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended healthcare Public-Private Partnership contracts as successful and said that they give the state the opportunity to make investments even when there is no money.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Rama said:
“Public-Private Partnerships are investments that you receive today from the private sector because you do not have the money to do it from the budget and you repay them on time.
“We were not able to make the historic transformation of medical materials and instruments, so we provided it with PPP.”
Rama pointed out as an example of success in providing dialysis with PPP:
“Dialysis is done [by patients] today as people who are respected in optimal conditions and pay as much as they used to pay.”
Exit News previously revealed how Rama and the governments of Montenegro and North Macedonia have been in talks with Vitals Global Healthcare which was then bought by Steward Health Care, to negotiate PPPs in their respective countries.
The problem is that these companies are involved in a criminal investigation amid claims of fraud, money laundering, collusion with government officials, and making off with hundreds of millions in tax-payers money. Through a corrupt deal struck with the government of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, hidden investors profited handsomely while no terms of the contract were filled and taxpayers were left footing the bill.
You can read more from the cross-border investigation into Healthcare PPPs here.
