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Chaos with public property, Albania 12 years without an asset inventory

2026-01-19 11:00:00, Aktualitet CNA

For about 12 years, the Albanian government has avoided creating a registry in the form of an inventory for physical assets owned by the public.

Donors and the World Bank have been assisting the Ministry of Finance for years to create a modern public property registry, but the Ministry of Finance is failing year after year.

The latest data on the inventory of public assets dates back to 2014, with a total value of 353 billion lek (see the link https://financa.gov.al/pasqyrat-financiare/). However, since then, billions of euros have been injected into the expansion and maintenance of public property from budgetary financing through capital investments and operational maintenance expenses.

The Ministry of Finance, in a monitoring report for the Financial Management Strategy in 2025, referred to the fact that the property inventory is not being created due to delays in data collection and inventory verification, especially in institutions with limited administrative capacities.

"The Government's National Accounts are facing common challenges, such as limited budgetary support, delays in data collection and structuring, and the lack of integrated systems for inter-institutional information exchange. To progress, it is required to secure funding for the Web Service infrastructure, implement reporting mechanisms in accordance with IPSAS, and strengthen the database for PPPs and concessions, through closer cooperation with ATRAKO and relevant institutions," argues the Ministry of Finance.

But while the budget in the last two years has closed with a surplus and millions of euros are being thrown at projects that do not exist (incinerators), the creation of a public property registry is facing financing difficulties.

The asset register is vital for government transparency, as without this inventory, the state does not really know what it owns, where the assets are located, how much they are worth, and how they are used.

The register gives oversight institutions, the Parliament, the SAI and the public the opportunity to verify the existence, value and use of public properties and this reduces the scope for abuse and mismanagement.

The absence of this register creates a risk of loss, unauthorized use, or informal transfers of public assets, while the register acts as a control mechanism.

In the absence of a registry, citizens have no way of knowing what the government owns, how this property is managed, and whether it is used in the public interest.

Assets that are not registered and public are more exposed to loss, non-transparent use, concession or informal transfers, often without a clear assessment of the costs and benefits to the public.

Practice has shown that without an accurate asset overview, the government can invest inefficiently, build unnecessary infrastructure, or sell public assets below value, transferring costs to taxpayers.

The lack of a registry has caused citizens to not only lose control over public assets, but also formal information about the public properties of the country where they live./ Monitor