The Incinerators’ Affair is the gravest corruption scandal nowadays in Albania. In violation to the legal requirements in place, and the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU.
The government of Edi Rama refused to pursue public tendering procedures, Instead, it is giving some 430 million euros to three now-wanted individuals who presented unsolicited proposals for the construction and operation of incinerators, first in Elbasan, later in Fier and lastly in Tirana. The three cities are less than 50 miles from each other and there was no feasibilitystudy into why there was a need for so many incinerators.
Furthermore, the EC had paid almost 4 million euro to preparethe Waste Strategy and Action Plan for Albania that did notforesee any incinerators.
18 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/09/report-us-intel-officials-believe-russia-secretly-backed- albanian-candidate/
19 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62897570
20 https://www.syri.net/politike/580815/lobimi-rus-mandija-pd-s-kishte-bord-financiar-basha-kontrollonte-vete- qarkullimin-e-parave/
“You haven’t seen anything yet, because this is just the beginning,”
However, Edi Rama continued with his tune that the incinerators were his pride. He brought the whole Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party at the site of the incinerator in Elbasan in 2017and considered it as “an investment we cannot help but be proud of”.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, because this is just the beginning,” the Prime Minister promised, warning the rise of the next incinerators in Fier and later in Tirana.22
The opposition started daily press conferences about the incinerators affair even asking the Prosecutors Office to reflect whether there was any tender, whether it is legal to pass 9procedures within a single day, whether a contract would be validif it includes articles such as “the contract cannot be void even if the recipient of the public funds fails to deliver the inputsforeseen in the contract”, and so on.
“They are my pride. I have followed the projects into very details, I do not sleep on them”
In 2022, there was a Parliamentary Commission to investigate onthe incinerators’ affair.
During his statement, Edi Rama responded “They are my pride. I have followed the projects into very details, I do not sleep on them”.
Even when the opposition pinpointed to the facts that one is not functional, while two are not yet constructed in a breach of the contracts, Edi Rama told tothe Members of Parliament:
“The construction of these complex works has had its own problems. Elbasan is a work that speaks for itself, whosetechnicalities for energy have been given by other people here. Fieri has had other problems, as troops have been deployed to tell them to stop with the garbage. The change of the country has been made. These projects are one of my prides as prime minister, and there is no doubt.”
The Prosecution Office that had the investigation into theincinerators’ affair ongoing for three years, finally concluded that the same individuals (that the opposition has been saying for 6years ago) are indeed the real owners behind all three incinerators. The Prosecution Office has so far arrested theformer Minister of Environment and on 01 August 2023 issued anarrest warrant for the former Minister of Finance.
21 https://zoom.al/investigimi-dosja-e-plote-per-inceneratoret-e-elbasanit-dhe-fierit/
22 https://lapsi.al/2023/07/16/inceneratoret/
23 https://5pyetjet.al/2022/08/26/ku-eshte-spak-pd-arben-kraja-sus-para-rames-per-inceneratoret/
24 https://lapsi.al/2023/07/16/inceneratoret/
25 https://newsbomb.net/jane-krenaria-ime-rama-per-inceneratoret-projektet-i-kam-ndjekur-deri-ne-detaj-nuk-fle- gjume-une/
26 https://www.syri.net/politike/487540/mega-skandali-rama-inceneratoret-jane-krenaria-ime/
“Now the incinerators are no longer acts of pride, but a job done in good faith, which those below Rama have exploited to extract illegal personal gain.
In short, the individual responsibilityvariant is the last shield left by Edi Rama to keep out the greatdirt of incinerators. Politically and morally Edi Rama is the main responsible for the incinerators’ affair.
Not only because he soldthe Albanians the biggest band of thieves in Albania’s history as the team that would bring the renaissance of the Nation.
Norbecause he was unable to understand that all these people close to him were stealing behind his back.
But for something graver than that. The destruction of the state’santibodies.
The Prime Minister himself has a large team in theLegal Department and a major anti-corruption Department.
Central institutions have entire audit departments, paid precisely to prevent public money being stolen and to detect abuses. But none of them did.
The government that the prime minister leads has had all the antibodies of the state destroyed. Just like amalignant virus.”
AL in Sweden. 