VOA-Albania, the government's action to confiscate buildings without permission turns into a bubble

2023-08-24 18:31:00, Aktualitet CNA

VOA-Albania, the government's action to confiscate buildings without

Eight months after the government's sensational action against buildings in violation of building permits, construction companies have returned to the confiscated sites, while institutions turn a blind eye to repeated violations of the law.

In September 2022, Prime Minister Edi Rama and his cabinet ministers launched a sensational action against high-rise buildings that had violated construction permits in Tirana, warning of their confiscation and use for social purposes.

In support of this action, the government approved decision no. 589/2022 that paved the way for confiscation, but at the same time gave the builders the possibility of legalization through pre-purchase at the market price of floors without a permit.

In his public appearances, Mr. Rama blamed the judiciary, but also the opposition and the media for being silent about the unauthorized constructions in the middle of Tirana.

"No one, neither the opposition, nor the media, saw them, did not tell them, did not listen to them, did not ask for the floors and meters built without permission for the purpose of profit in the middle of Tirana. Because all of them either have their finger stuck, who more and who less, who directly and who indirectly in the honey of concrete bricks, or their eyes are so blinded and their ears are so clogged with hatred", he said.

Even the government ministers denounced the illegal constructions as mysterious crimes.

"This is the most flagrant example, it is symbolic of the violation of the law... we have 9 floors of construction without any documents, how this happened, to be honest, is a mystery to us", said Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku.

According to the Ministry of Finance, 25 objects were confiscated as part of this action, most of them in Tirana. But eight months later, the builders have returned to the confiscated sites and resumed construction, again without permission.

In the months of July and August, BIRN filmed construction workers and machinery at work in confiscated buildings in the dry lake area, near the Zoo and on Myslym Shyri street in Tirana. The works are being carried out respectively by the Xheluks company owned by Julian Morin, the Salillari company as well as Arb and Trans 2010 founded by the socialist official, Arben Maloku.

Asked by BIRN about the status of these buildings, the Ministry of Finance, which is the de facto owner after the confiscation, said that it was in the process of negotiating with the construction companies for the pre-purchase of the additions, but added that none of them had been provided with permits to construction updates.

The ministry also claimed to have collected ALL 265 million by August from 8 entities that had paid 10% of the value and one entity that had paid the full value, but refused to make available the evaluation reports of the unauthorized floors that determine the prices.

The Ministry of Finance left the responsibility to other land control authorities for starting work on the confiscated sites, in the absence of new building permits.

"The announcements made by us are related to the stages of the process through which the confiscated construction goes and not to the granting of the construction permit or rather confirmation of the continuation of the works," said the Ministry in a written response .

Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Tirana Police did not answer questions about the legality of these works. Meanwhile, the Minister of the Interior, Taulant Balla, told BIRN that the construction companies are carrying out the works in the areas with permission.

"For areas without a permit, they will get a permit at the KKT," said Balla.

Parallel to the administrative process, the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana previously registered criminal proceedings against the builders who had violated the building permits. The head of the Prosecutor's Office, Arens Çela, told BIRN that the resumption of works without a permit was referred to criminal cases in several cases and was "merged with the main investigation".

Ekspertët e shohin aksionin e qeverisë të lidhur me fushatën e fundit elektorale, ndërsa vlerësojnë se ndërtuesit përfituan sërish trajtim klientelist në shkelje të ligjit.

“Pra kemi të bëjmë me një presion elektoral, një përpjekje për t’u pasqyruar si në favor të ligjit nga ana e ekzekutivit dhe pushtetit lokal në periudhë zgjedhore dhe pastaj vazhdon rituali i zakonshëm i bargain (Pazar) i thonë në Anglisht, i negocimeve me biznesin në varësi me humorin e drejtuesve të qeverisë”, thotë Zef Preçi, drejtor i Qendrës Shqiptare për Kërkime Ekonomike.

Anëtarja e Këshillit Bashkiak të Tiranës nga lëvizja “Bashkë”, Mirela Ruko, thotë se kjo histori ekspozon standardet e ndryshme mes qytetarëve të thjeshtë dhe ndërtuesve të mëdhenj.

"How do you think a citizen will feel that he has been punished, for example, for blocking his balcony to slightly expand the space of his house, while on the other hand we have a man who builds five or six floors above the building permit and there is no nothing happens. The law is not equal and we are not all equal before the law," says Mrs. Ruko.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the confiscated buildings will be returned to the builders after paying the full pre-purchase value, while they can then apply for the renewal of building permits./ Voa