Floods in Vlora/ Bujar Leskaj: Consequence of corruption and irresponsibility of the government and municipality

2025-12-02 17:11:00, Politikë CNA

Floods in Vlora/ Bujar Leskaj: Consequence of corruption and irresponsibility of

During his speech in the Assembly, MP Bujar Leskaj raised concerns about the flooding situation in Vlora, describing it as a problem that recurs every year due to institutional corruption and lack of accountability by the authorities.

Leskaj stated that the recent rainfall clearly showed that the city's sewage network is outdated, not properly paved, and blocked in many areas, which regularly leads to flooding of Vlora and surrounding villages.

He also brought to attention the problems with the Vlora hydroelectric plant, which, despite being equipped with four pumps, two with large capacity and two with small capacity, often fails due to blockage by debris, making it impossible to cope with water flows.

According to him, the lack of maintenance of sewers and equipment has caused "entire neighborhoods of Vlora, from the center to the outskirts, to flood."

Leskaj accused the government and the municipality of abusing millions in investments, citing a recent tender for hydropower pumps, which he called a "corrupt tender."

He emphasized that on August 25 alone, 38 million lek were allocated for the hydropower plant, while 3 billion lek were planned for the drainage system, investments that, according to him, are not accompanied by technical analyses or functional studies.

"Every year, citizens see the same story. The floods this November are a direct consequence of the irresponsibility of the government and local authorities," said Leskaj, adding with irony that "Vlora is turning into another Venice, while residents continue to wait for compensation that they have not yet received."

The MP demanded full transparency from the institutions and the taking of immediate measures to avoid the recurrence of similar situations.

"We found a bitter truth that is being repeated year after year. Every time it rains, Vlora and the villages are plunged into natural disaster and institutional corruption. Vlora is a reflection of what happens in all the cities of Albania."

The flooding situation proved that the sewer network is outdated, poorly maintained, and blocked in many areas.

Investments worth millions of euros are abuses. They have been carried out without standards or technical control. An example is the Vlora hydroelectric power plant, which has four pumps, two with high power and two with low power. They work but are blocked by debris due to the lack of pumps. Entire neighborhoods of Vlora are flooded with cold water, even in the peripheral areas.

The tender for the pumps that was held a few months ago was abused and a corrupt tender was held. While citizens see their houses under water, the municipality and the government do not provide invoices. Official facts speak differently on August 25, 38 million lek were given for the hydropower plant. 3 billion lek are planned for the drainage system.

These are tenders that are generally not accompanied by any proper technical analysis, no functional plan, and no study that shows how the problems are solved.

Every year, citizens see the same story. The floods of this November were and are the consequence of the irresponsibility of the government and local authorities.

"Vlora is different from Berat. Maybe they want to pass as Venice. Neither the government nor the municipality is accountable for the floods. A significant part of the citizens have not received real compensation," said Leskaj./ CNA