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How do MPs steal the money that Albanians pay them for telephone services?

2025-07-11 09:34:00, Denoncim CNA

How do MPs steal the money that Albanians pay them for telephone services?

Illustrative photo

CNA published data showing that Albanians pay between 4-5.5 million lek for a member of the Albanian Parliament for telephone services, per diems, fuel, commissions, etc.

One of the details that actually caught our attention and we decided to look into it further was the fact that Albanians pay 170 thousand old lek for a deputy's telephone services.

How much do Albanians pay for an MP?
July 10, 14:22

The question arises, why and for what do they have to pay 170 thousand lek for the phone?

From the data and sources obtained by CNA from mobile companies, some of them do not even reach the quota of 50 thousand old lekë.

So, if they were to take the packages offered by telephone companies, which go for a maximum of about 60 thousand old lek, from which they would benefit from internet, roaming, although in the Western Balkans it has already become "free" when moving and with the maximum package offered to businesses 40 GB of internet that many MPs do not use, although they can also watch cartoons, but others who move abroad cannot spend more than 20 GB of internet or have 24-hour roaming, etc., the costs of which are a maximum of 50-60 thousand old lek.

This part of the difference for most MPs, according to official data provided by CNA, is stolen because their phone bills do not cover the amount of 170 thousand lek.

There are many times fewer, this is due to the prices that have been reduced and the tariffs that companies have.

Packages from telephone companies

In the Assembly, 140 deputies are paid from citizens' taxes for telephone services worth 170 thousand old lek for each of them.

In a simple calculation, Albanians pay 24 million lek per month for the telephone services of members of the Albanian Parliament.

Meanwhile, they pay about 300 million lek per year. So, Albanians pay about 300 thousand euros per year for MPs' phones.

Meanwhile, more than half of this value is stolen. A clear and obvious theft because the tariffs and offers that the telephone companies have, which, as we mentioned above, with 5-6 thousand new lekë had solved the problem.

If this fee were reduced and payments for MPs were made somewhere around 6 thousand lek, it would go from 24 million to 8.4 million lek, and the total annual expenditure would be around 100 thousand euros.

So, almost 200 thousand euros would be saved per year. That's approximately 1 million euros in four years that would be saved just by stopping the theft that deputies commit with the amount of lek they receive due to their duties as deputies for telephone payments.

Today, with packages of 5 or 6 thousand new lek, everything is solved. Meanwhile, our MPs receive 170 thousand lek for their phones.

There are many other things that can be discussed, but this is the most essential.

Not to mention these famous committee meetings that are fictitiously signed, where they go and where they don't go, or the per diems they receive, etc., which make our MPs have the highest salaries in Europe./ CNA