1.2 billion euro stock/ In 7 months, the government allocates only 24% of the capital expenditure fund

2024-08-20 09:15:15, Ekonomi CNA

1.2 billion euro stock/ In 7 months, the government allocates only 24% of the

From January to July of this year, the budget allocated only 24 percent of the annual public investment plan.

According to official data from the Ministry of Finance, at the end of the 7th month, only 32 billion lek, or 24 percent of the annual fund planned for this item, was allocated to public investments.

Compared to the fact of the 7th month of 2023, capital investments have recorded an annual decrease of 11 percent. The data show that the government has failed to implement the public investment program, which is the strongest point of the implementation of the government's program.

If the remaining investment funds of around ALL 102 billion or more than EUR 1 billion will be allocated in the remaining 5 months, they risk negatively affecting some other economic indicators.

The Bank of Albania has stated more than once that the non-harmonized distribution of the investment fund throughout the financial year negatively affects the exchange rate.

The lack of budget funds in circulation has become the reason for the further strengthening of the lek, while their concentration in the month of December is the reason for the increase in inflation.

1.2 billion euro stock/ In 7 months, the government allocates only 24% of the

Source: Ministry of Finance

Former treasury experts at the Ministry of Finance claimed that the concentration of funds at the end of the year increases the risk of their misuse.

The reasons for the non-implementation of the public investment program are related to the stagnation of the procedures and the reluctance of procurement employees to sign, based on the fear of SPAK investigations.

Sources within the Public Procurement Agency claimed that there is a crisis for human resources in the procurement sector and a tremendous fear of signing tender documents. International financial institutions, on the other hand, have raised concerns that the management of the public investment framework faces weaknesses in all phases, from the classification of projects to their implementation.

This year is also reinforcing the precedent of using public investment funds in the last months of the year.

The sensational cases uncovered by the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) prove that the abuse of public funds in the area of ??investments has colossal proportions.

There are cases such as incinerators where a large part of the investment fund has been abused, as the costs of concession contracts in health have been inflated by over 50%./ Monitor.al