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The alarming situation with garbage in Tirana/DP, request of the City Council

2024-09-04 14:05:00, Politikë CNA

The head of the department of foreign relations in the Democratic Party, Ilda Zhulali, has sent a request to the mayor of the Municipal Council of Tirana, Romina Kuko, to include in the agenda two urgent issues for discussion in the meeting of the Council that will take place on Monday.

The first issue, the emergency situation of garbage in Tirana, should be included in the agenda and the accountability of the mayor and the representative/representatives of the company Eco Tirana for the failure to clean the city and endangering the health of citizens due to pollution.

Secondly, accountability of the mayor for the agreement of two foreign companies to perform financial control in the Municipality of Tirana, without the knowledge and approval of the Municipal Council.

"Today, I asked the mayor of the Municipal Council of Tirana to include two urgent issues for discussion in the meeting of the Council that will take place on Monday.

First, considering the emergency garbage situation in Tirana, to include in the agenda the accountability of the mayor and the representative/representatives of the company 'Eco Tirana' for the failure to clean the city and endangering the health of the citizens due to pollution.

Second, the accountability of the mayor for the agreement of two foreign companies to perform financial control in the Municipality of Tirana, without the knowledge and approval of the Municipal Council.

Regarding the alarming situation created in the city, I have requested that the mayor and the representative of 'Eco Tirana' answer the following questions:

Question for the Mayor of Tirana

Responsibility for Cleaning Service:

Has the mayor ascertained the alarming state of garbage in Tirana?

If so, during what period?

Has he taken measures to change the situation? If so, what measures did he take?

Has 'Eco Tirana' submitted the contract implementation progress report to Tirana Municipality on September 1, as stipulated in the contractual obligation?

If so, has he pointed out any disturbing elements for which he has requested the intervention of the municipality?

If not, why didn't he present the report?

Budget expenditure:

How are the funds that the municipality allocates for the cleaning service, divided by item, spent, while the budget for this service has increased by 30%?

Responsibilities under the contract:

What exactly does the municipality (shareholder) cover in the cleaning process and what does AGSM Holding cover according to the contract for the establishment of "Eco Tirana"?

Which party has failed to fulfill the obligations of providing the service for the city of Tirana?

Waste situation:

What measures have been taken to address the current situation of non-collection of garbage? Why has this situation occurred and how do you plan to resolve it?

Have you imposed penalties on the company Eco Tirana for the failure to clean the city according to the stipulations provided in the contract?

If yes, what penalties?

If not, why?

You stated that the chaotic situation came as a result of the transition period from the previous contractors to Eco Tirana. I remind you that Eco Tirana has been responsible for the so-called red zone for years, where the same problem with garbage is encountered as in other areas of Tirana. I also remind you that the contracts with other companies ended in February, March and April 2024, respectively, and that in the meetings of the municipal council in November 2023 and February 2024, you gave full guarantees for the normal progress of the city's cleaning process from garbage, including during the transition of the service monopoly to Eco Tirana. How do you justify your statements?

Questions about "Eco Tirana"

Implementation of the Contract:

Why has "Eco Tirana" failed to implement the obligations of the contract in all local government units? What are the reasons for this failure?

Capacities of "Eco Tirana":

How many tools and employees does "Eco Tirana" have available for cleaning services?

How much is the investment for them by each co-shareholder of the company?

How many tools and additional employees has the company engaged after obtaining the monopoly of the cleaning service for the entire territory of Tirana Municipality?

If so, when were these measures taken?

Are these capacities sufficient to meet the needs?

Cleaning Frequency:

How often is cleaning performed in Tirana, and at what times?

Are there any revised plans for intensifying services in critical areas?

What are the critical areas?

Waste situation:

Why in all the units of Tirana today there is an alarming situation of garbage spilled on the street, or that they are set on fire?

Have you reported/asked for help at Tirana Municipality?

If so, what specifically and have you received an answer?

Did you submit the contract implementation progress report on September 1st?

What have been the company's expenses, according to the rumors, since exercising the service monopoly?

What measures have been taken to address the current situation of non-collection of garbage?

Accountability of the Mayor for the agreement of two foreign companies to perform the financial control in the Municipality of Tirana.

The Mayor has publicly declared that this foreign company agreed to conduct an in-depth audit in the Municipality of Tirana.

Questions for the Mayor:

What are the companies engaged for auditing?

How were they selected (the process you followed and the selection criteria) and which authority made the selection?

Why two different companies?

What time period will they cover?

Has another audit of the same period been done by the municipality itself? From KLSH?

Why does the mayor refuse transparency in the municipal council and the audit of the opposition?

Will these companies investigate the activity of the 5D company and the tenders obtained by it from the municipality of Tirana?

Will the funds given to the non-existent incinerator of Tirana be included in the audit?

Will these two agreements cost the taxpayers of Tirana?

If so, what is the estimated total cost of each arrangement (total and by year)?

Have the financial costs of these two agreements been approved in the 2024 annual budget and the 2024-2026 PBA? Specifically in which budget item?

Article 15 of Law No. 139/2015 defines the obligation for transparency and accountability of local government units towards citizens.

Article 56, point 4, of the Regulations of the Municipal Council of Tirana, provides that the Mayor reports on the problems related to the functions of the municipality", writes Zhulali./ CNA