Albania’s Special Prosecution for Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) is investigating the Sami Frasheri school project for abuse of office, although an individual has not yet been specified.
The school was built by the Municipality of Tirana in 2018 and was presented as a modern institution. Following the November 2019 earthquake, it was severely damaged, according to the assessment of a private company, contracted by the Municipality.
The cost was in the region of EUR 4.5 million, significantly more than the EUR 700,000 used to build it in 2018.
Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj went on to claim that the work, to be carried out without prior announcement or tender, would be funded by the EU. He also said the new school would be bigger and better than its previous structure.
The opposition has claimed that the cost of the work has been over-inflated and that municipality officials, and Veliaj will benefit from it.
In 2021, they questioned why the school was demolished in the middle of a pandemic without a second project in the works, why the cost is so high, and why they lied about it being built with EU funds.
The EU delegation at the time confirmed that they were not funding fully or partially, the reconstruction.
“The school is not among the finalised and published list of the first phase of the programme. Equally, it is not foreseen among the educational establishments to be included in the second phase,” they said.
A spokesperson for SPAK, Xhuljeta Krasta said, “the proceeding was registered on the basis of a report of a citizens. It is under investigation and there is no decision. There is no person under investigation so far.”
Regarding the investigation, Veliaj denied any wrong doing.
“I have no problems with the prosecutor. It is likely that it will be closed because there is no abuse of office,” he said on Top Story.
