At least EUR 159 million of Albanian taxpayers’ money was lost in 2021 due to economic mismanagement according to the head of the Supreme State Audit (KLSH).
Chairman of KLSH, Arben Shehu addressed the Committee on Economy and Finance in Albanian Parliament to present the Performance Report for 2021. It addressed issues and general findings of the institution in audits carried out in all public institutions.
A total of 158 audits were carried out across government entities, addressing matters such as budget implementation, financial management, accountability and fighting corruption.
“Government activity continues to show problems with mismanagement of the budget,” Shehu said, adding that “the institutions with the highest risk” include customs and tax.
According to the report, the total damage from mismanagement is EUR 159 million, with a knock on impact on the economy to the tune of over EUR 455 million.
Shehu said there were anomalies and violations in multiple concession projects and said the government failed to carry out regular monitoring of such contracts. During this fiscal year, the report also found that the government continued to pay for sub-par services.
Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku spoke with concern about PPPs, noting that one in five lek spent by the government is classed as economic damages in the report. She added there was real concern about budget management especially considering the aftermath of the 2019 earthquake and COVID-19 pandemic.
General Director of KLSH, Marjola Llanaj said that the government was not optimising public funds, despite a war against corruption being waged.
The ruling Socialist Party however, did not agree with the report and suggested revising the processes of KLSH and questioning the abilities of those involved.
KLSH has made a total of 4251 recommendations for improvement, 90 of which are legal improvements, 1087 disciplinary measures, and 3074 organisational ones.
