The Albanian Minister of Health has claimed that allegations of a fire breaking out in the procurement office of the Ministry are untrue, despite the Democratic Party (PD) publishing an email from an official Ministry address which states there was indeed a fire.
The PD claimed that the fire was a deliberate attempt to get rid of evidence of COVID-19-related tenders that they have said are corrupt.
According to spokesperson Bardh Spahia, the email dated 18:00 on April 15 comes from an official address and confirms there was a fire which triggered the alarm system.
“After checks, it was found that several burned and extinguished papers were found on the fourth floor of the building, smoke from which had activated the alarm signal,” the email reads.
The party claims that these papers related to tenders that allowed the purchase of COVID-19 tests at a higher market price. The PD also denounced the government for paying around EUR3.5 million for PPE at a rate above the market value. These tenders were not made public and were classified as a “state secret”.
Minister Ogerta Manastriliu refuted the email. She denied there was any fire in the procurement office and said the email was relating to an incident caused by an employee.
“The ‘discovery’ of the PD has to do with a ‘reprimand’ email from the person responsible for safety in the Ministry, who addressed the staff after an incident caused by an employee, against whom an administrative measure was subsequently taken.”
The Ministry has rejected the allegations that the fire was to get rid of any alleged ‘evidence’ of wrongdoing. The PD has called on SPAK to investigate.
