Prime Minister Edi Rama at the weekly meeting with common citizens sharing their personal experience on how they have tackled various personal and community problems through the help from the online platform Albania We Want:
The weekly regular meeting takes place today with the common citizens coming every week here to share their personal stories regarding their experience with the Co-Governance Platform and help us to extend through them a message and encourage everyone to access the online platform www.shqiperiaqeduam.al. whenever they encounter injustice lack of public administration’s readiness and willingness to proper deliver public services to citizens.
Fatmir, Co-Governance Platform coordinator: The two cases we are about to introduce concern two Fieri citizens and the regional Immovable Property Registration Office that failed to act and tackle their problems. The first case concerns Mr. Adem Toska, a Zharra administrative unit resident, Patos Municipality, who applied for registration of the legalization permit for his property in November 2018. Following a series of administrative complaints, no solution was found. Most recently, he lodged a complaint with the Co-Governance Platform and the property ownership certificate following a close interaction between the Co-Governance Platform Coordinators and the State Agency of Cadastre.
Mr. Adem Toska: Two or three weeks ago, I applied for the legalization of my dwelling and the property ownership certificate was issued within four or five days only. I would like to express deep appreciation to the Prime Minister and the coordinators who have received and constantly phoned us. Thank you! We are very pleased! Thank you everyone! The case has now been solved.
Fatmir, Co-Governance Platform coordinator: The next case concerns Mrs. Elvana, who had applied for registration of her legalization permit for her property in 2018, including the attached final court ruling that obliged the regional Immovable Property Registration Office in Fier to register her property. However, no solution had been found administratively since May 2018. Once the case was forwarded to the Co-Governance Platform recently, the property ownership certificate was issued in collaboration with the State Agency of Cadastre.
Mrs. Elvana: I would like to thank Mr. Prime Minister Edi Rama! I would also like to thank the Justice Minister Etilda Gjonaj, who provided us the opportunity to address long-standing property registration issues! On 15th May, 2018, we applied for the property ownership certificate, yet no solution was found for around a year. We were then forced to address the Platform to tackle the problem and we have been already provided with the property ownership certificate I have here with me, without paying a single penny. We express appreciation to every administration employee and the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice in particular as she has been helping us during the entire process in the First Instance court of Fier, the Court of Appeals in Gjirokaster and the First Instance Court in Tirana.
PM Edi Rama: Thank you very much for taking the trouble to share your experience with us, because it might not sound completely credible when we introduce such cases. Yet, when other citizens listen it straight from individuals who share their story and experience this helps us to convince other people to increasingly access and use the Platform. There is no need to wait for 6 months or a year. It takes just 3 minutes to write and forward your complaints to the Platform and whole this team will then act immediately according to the area of responsibility and an official response is provided.
Mikel, Co-Governance Platform coordinator: Mrs. Xhemo from Kuçova has been doing both hard and dangerous work at the oil mechanical plant in Kuçova, yet she has never benefited under the reviewed pension schemes according to the Council of Ministers’ decision over years. Thanks to the Co-Governance Platform, the Social Insurance Institute reviewed her pension file and her underpaid pension payment was recalculated. As a result, Mrs. Xhemo’s pension underpayment problem has been now resolved and she has now benefited a compensation pay-out for underpayments over years.
Mrs. Xhemo: I would like to thank Mr. Prime Minister and state that Albania will live on as long as men with great merits will exist. I am a retired woman from Kuçova. I retired at an early as worker in difficult and hazardous work. For years I have noticed that I received a considerably lower pension payment compared to my former colleagues at the same workplace. I received a monthly pension of 140 000 Lek, while a friend of mine and former colleague received 220 000 Lek. I lodged a complaint with the regional Social Insurance Office in Berat and Kuçove. I used to receive confirmation that my complaint had been received, but no response regarding my complaint. I was told that I was not entitled to a higher pension payment. I then came across the Co-Governance Portal with stories already tackled by the Portal and therefore I decided to file a complaint with it. I forwarded my complaint on April 11 and on April 22 I received a reply via e-mail, telling me that the problem had been resolved. I now receive 230 000 lek each month and a compensation pay-out of 2 million Lek for underpayments over years. Thank you very much!
PM Edi Rama: A similar case is introduced almost at every weekly meeting, featuring retired people who fail to receive the due pension payment for years due to miscalculations in the past. By cooperating with the Co-Governance Platform, we not only recalculate and resolve the pension underpayment problem, but we also make sure they receive a compensation pay-out for underpayments because of the miscalculations from the very first retirement day. This is the reason why Mrs. Xhemo, not only has she received the confirmation about the new pension payment she will receive each month, but also a compensation pay-out of around 2 million Lek, or precisely 196 267 Lek as a result of the recalculated pension payment.
Etleva, Co-Governance Platform coordinator: The Platform www.shqiperiaqeduam.al conveys the citizens message and voice not only within Albania’s borders, but also abroad. This was the case concerning Mrs. Rajmonda, who addressed the Platform. Her daughter was born in Thessaloniki in 2009 and she was not registered neither in Albania, nor in Greece. With the complaint collected, the Albanian Consulate in Thessaloniki launched an institutional communication and interaction and a birth certificate of her daughter was issued to Mrs. Rajmonda on May 3.
Mrs. Rajmonda: Hello everyone! I am from Erseka. I used to live as an irregular immigrant in Greece. I gave birth to my daughter in 2009 and three years later, in 2012, I returned back home. But since then my daughter was not registered Civil Registry Office. I was also denied a passport while in Greece. I was told to take the case to the court, but I couldn’t afford the court-related costs. Therefore, I decided to access the Co-Governance Platform. Finally, my daughter has been registered with the Civil Registry. Thank you very much!
PM Edi Rama: It is important to reiterate that this is the Platform serving every Albanian citizen, either be them here in Albania or abroad, helping them to tackle any issue with the Albanian state offices and there are many cases when citizens of the Republic of Albania living abroad, in Europe, in the United States and Australia, who have been able to solve their problems via the platform without having to come here. They have solved long-standing inherited problems related to property, retirement, and so on. Bledar will introduce the next case.
Bledar, Co-Governance Platform coordinator: Allow me to introduce the case concerning Kovaçi family from Elbasan. In February this year, the Kovaçi family home was partly burned due to a home fire related to high voltage fluctuations. Elbasan Municipality has conducted a damage assessment to provide a financial compensation, but no such a compensation had been awarded to Kovaçi family, although living in poor conditions. Therefore, the family head accessed the Co-Governance Platform and their problem has now been resolved. Elbasan Municipality has confirmed allocation of the compensation to Kovaçi family. I invite Mrs. Valbona to share her experience with us.
Mrs. Valbona Kovaçi: On February 4, my family home was burned down. We are a family of five living in poor economic conditions. I asked for assistance, addressing every local government office in Elbasan, yet I always encountered problems. I was tired and gave up my further efforts. Finally, I decided to file a complaint with the Co-Governance Platform and a positive response was sent within ten days and I was granted due financial compensation. I would like to thank Mr. Prime Minister and coordinator Bledi, who helped us a lot. I am looking forward to seeing my other unemployment and poverty-related problems solved in a near future. Thank you!
PM Edi Rama: Hundreds of vacant job positions are available at the regional Employment Service in Elbasan currently. A special vocational training centre has also become operational in Elbasan as the vacancies in most of cases require certain skills that many applicants may lack at all and that’s why a vocational training centre has been opened recently in the central city in collaboration with the local Employment Service for applicants to require job-related skills. And therefore Bled will work again to facilitate mediation and the local office will help you for a job placement. Ndrita will introduce the next case.
Ndrita, Co-Governance coordinator: Today I would like to introduce the case concerning Mrs. Lorenca Hoxha, a teacher from Diber district. Mrs. Hoxha ranked first on the Teachers for Albania portal as a chemistry teacher, but she was not hired, because not all vacancies in the education system have been filled according to the portal’s ranking. Upon reception of the complaint, the required verifications were carried out and the regional Education Directorate recruited Mrs. Lorenca as chemistry teacher at secondary school in the town of Peshkopi. I invite Lorenca to share her experience with us.
Mrs. Lorenca Hoxha: After graduated from University and obtaining master degree in chemistry I also obtained the teaching licence and went through all procedures for applying via the portal Teachers for Albania. I made to the top of the list. Following a series of meetings with the regional education officials in Diber I failed in my efforts to take up a job position as teacher I fully deserved. That’s why I addressed the Co-Governance Platform. Ten days later I received an e-mail telling me that a working team had been set up to tackle my case time. Another e-mail followed, explaining that my problem had been solved and a job position was now available to me. Thank you very much Mr. Prime Minister and Co-Governance Platform coordinators!
PM Rama: The last case has been handled by the Municipality of Tirana and it will be revealed by Flavia.
Flavia, Co-Governance Platform coordinator: The case I am about to introduce concerns Mr. Petrit Lila, a resident in Zall Bastar administrative unit. In 2013, the administrative unit of Zall Bastar had rented a building owned Mr. Lila as the primary school building was undergoing a reconstruction project. Despite the legal contract, the administrative unit had failed to pay the rent since 2015. With the complaint processed, the case was reviewed in collaboration with Tirana Municipality and after the documentation was verified, the whole amount in unpaid rent arrears was settled. I would invite Mr. Lila to clarify more on the case.
Mr. Petrit Lila: Hello everyone! My problem had to do with a lease agreement on a property I made available to the administrative unit in Zall Bastar to be used as a primary school. I receive rent payment until 2015 and everything then stopped until 2018 and a rent arrear was accumulated. Thanks to technology and the co-governance platform I was given the opportunity that, with the assistance of Mrs. Flavia, to address my concern and have restored back what I thought was gone. Thank you for everything. I am really grateful.
PM Edi Rama: Thank you very much! I am pleased to announce that a total of 35 000 cases and complaints filed by a growing number of citizens have been already handled and tackled through the assistance from the Co-Governance Platform. Of course, the resolved cases include various problems regarding different governance aspects on which the citizens complain.
On the other hand, I want to emphasize that there is a difference between the problems that the government tackles through its central agencies in Tirana and regional agencies across the country and the unsatisfactory quantity and quality level of addressing these problems by the local government authorities.
I am very confident that on June 30, we will create the opportunities to usher in a new era of handling and tackling such complaints by local government authorities. Thanking each participant and invitee who shared their stories with us, I want to say that it is not me the one you should actually appreciate, it is not us the one you should thank, but it is me and us who should thank each and every one of you and all of those who by their vote granted themselves the opportunity to join this co-governance process through the government. This is literally a true co-governance as you no longer need influential friends, middlemen, relatives or other filters, but every citizen, just like any member of the parliament, has been now granted direct access to the cabinet members to address their own problems and what we plan is granting equally direct access to every mayor following the June 30 local elections. This is a crucial moment and it is equally crucial to emphasize that the elections are not held for the ones who will be elected, but for those who elect on June 30 as they will decide to gain direct access to every mayor who will take office for the next four years.
Thank you so much to everyone again and of course I should also express appreciation to every member of the fantastic co-governance team working here at the Prime Minister’s office and at every ministry as they are a reason to be really proud in front of this country’s citizens at every weekly meeting.
Thank you very much!
