Albania we want platform, accounts told citizens who have joined the online platform
Prime Minister Edi Rama at weekly meeting with coordinators of the online platform for co-governance with citizens entitled “Albania We Want”:
Greetings everyone!
This is the weekly meeting of the coalition with the ordinary citizens who have filed their demands and complaints with the online platform for co-governance with citizens entitled “Albania We Want”. The accounts given each week convey to the citizens of this country a very simple truth; it takes 3 minutes only and minimum courage to fight for a right that many citizens have been denied by either state or local agencies for too long and set the relevant cabinet member and the government’s entire legal and administrative mechanism in motion so that not a single citizen is alone but has the government on his side to solve and address the problem. And not only that but also directly contribute to the legal crackdown on anyone working in the state administration but who have failed to do their job in delivering public services.
I am glad to point to the fact that despite natural scepticism and distrust developed and nurtured over the years due to the many failed initiatives launched by the previous governments to establish a more direct and straightforward relation with the citizens the public trust in the co-governance with the citizens is growing just like the number of the citizens joining the platform and having their problems solved is constantly increasing.
I am also pleased to see that many sceptics who address the platform just to tease or just to have fun, are now sending thank you messages after being deeply surprised that the platform really works. Indeed, the platform has definitely worked in their favour. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to express appreciation to the coordinators of the online platform for co-governance and their performance appraisals are well-deserved also for their contribution in selecting and gathering the accounts which serve the goal of this weekly meeting.
Many ladies and gentlemen from various parts of the country are attending the today’s meeting. I would like to appreciate them for taking part in this meeting and express my appreciation for a simple fact since by sharing their stories with us and by telling the simple truth over the functioning of the platform they are also contributing and encouraging others to address and file their complaints with the platform. So kill two birds with one stone; we solve a problem but also identify the state office workers who deserve to be criticized, administratively penalized or deserve to be fired or even face criminal prosecution when it is not about a mistake, but a guilt liable to punishment by law.
Katerina, coordinator of co-governance platform: The case I will introduce is a real evidence of endless delays and procrastination at the Tirana Immovable Property Registration Office, namely the regional Immovable Property Registration Office located in Tirana. This is the case of a citizen, namely Ismail Hasmeta, who had initially applied at the regional Immovable Property Registration in Tirana back in December 2015. He had filed seven applications with the office each time submitting the very same document, which is the attached map, the general plan. Unfortunately, the said general plan was never found by the Registration Office specialists and therefore the citizen decided to file his complaint with the platform. We retrieve the document and the citizen was provided the due property certificate within 10 days.
Mrs Hasmeta: Thank you everyone! What Mrs. Katerina said is true. We strived for years but we had our problem solved via the platform within 10 days only.
PM Edi Rama: This is unfortunately not an isolated case. This is a typical case and I would like to urge all citizens to quit loafing about by addressing to the property registration offices and instead file their complaints with the platform in order to stop meandering and have their problem solved. Their complaints will also help in the efforts to identify the individuals who are to blame for this illegal torments inflicted on the citizens and hold them responsible for their actions or inaction. This family has fortunately solved the problem and the persons who are responsible and have contributed to the problem are now undergoing an administrative punishment process and the anti-corruption Task Force at the Ministry of Justice will look into the case and determine whether those responsible will be charged and it is most likely that the case will be forwarded to the prosecutors.
Fatmir, co-governance coordinator: Allow me to introduce the case of Mrs. Edi Kola, whose rights to property were systematically denied for eight years. After filing her complaint to the co-governance platform, she was provided and handed over the due property certificate in less than eight days.
Edi Kola: I was denied the right to my property by the Immovable Property Registration Office for eight years. My husband was removed from entitlement to the property and the entire property was granted to my mother-in-law. When I addressed the Immovable Property Registration Office to apply for the due property right after being provided the legalization permit from ALUIZNI, I was told that this property file had been closed and the property certificate had been issued to my brother-in-law and my mother-in-law. My husband was denied the property right. For eight consecutive years, I poured their hearts and souls into it. I am a 63-year-old mother of two 10-year-old daughters. I used to stay at the Property Registration Office day and night, waiting in vain and receiving no response! But finally I met across the platform, the light that is giving me the energy to raise and make my children happy. Now I am have the opportunity sell the property, lease it in order to feed my children, educate and make them worthy citizens for their country, their homeland, Albania. Thank you very much! You’ve made me the world’s happiest woman. This is the second time I feel happy in my lifetime; once I gave birth to my daughters and today when I am receiving this property title certificate.
PM Edi Rama: One should actually cry instead of laughing when it comes to what it is all about. It is about a basic right that has been denied in an absolute irresponsible way for eight consecutive years. This is why I do strongly believe that the instrument we have developed, the co-governance platform with the citizens is an efficient tool in the hands of everyone to “kill” the injustice and do justice, ensuring not only that the problem is tackled, but also identifying the true culprits behind injustices suffered by the citizens and hold them accountable.
The cabinet meeting will be held following this gathering and a report on the punitive measures will be compiled. We are making preparations to produce a real time report so that we present it at every weekly meeting here at the Maps Hall, naming each public administration worker or official who is responsible for this situation. The anti-corruption task force headed by the Minister of Justice is doing a voluminous work. It is not easy. A process of surprises auditing and administrative investigation is also taking place all over the country. Such reports are being consolidated and once complete they will be revealed to the public.
On the other hand, I am pleased to the fact a number of accounts and testimonies have been made over the past weeks as a direct result from the public accountability campaign launched by the government. Such accounts were told also during the public accountability meetings and, quite opposite to what many have thought and said while watching, the citizens’ complaints haven’t fallen on deaf ears but we have taken note of each of them and have been addressed accordingly. We are about to hear today an account from the public accountability campaign and the respective meeting in the city of Korça.
Dorela, co-governance coordinator: In my capacity as coordinator of the co-governance platform at the Ministry of Education, I would like to introduce the case of Mr. Majk Ilia, who addressed the Ministry of Education to require an equivalency diploma, which was classified to the Bachelor degree. After the information he was provided during the meeting under the public accountability campaign in Korça, he filed with the co-governance platform and he has been provided the due Master of Science degree.
Majk Ilia: I was graduated from the Polytechnic School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki two years ago. I returned to Albania wishing to utilise my acquired knowledge and with the desire to contribute something back to my homeland. But upon my return, things didn’t go well just like I had though. A Bachelor equivalency certificate was issued as equivalent to my five-year Integrated university degree. For two years I tried to solve the problem, but I failed. They all told me I was right, but it was a matter of law. Almost two weeks ago I attended the public accountability campaign meeting in Korça. It was then when I filed my complaint with the Co-Governance Platform and in ten days only I received an e-mail, explaining that my university diploma had been reviewed and an equivalency Master of Science degree had been issued. I am very grateful for this and I wish such a practice will help many other students who might have encountered similar problem.
PM Edi Rama: I am going to pick the word up where Majk left off, to show how people, while looking for solutions to their grievances they also help others, because they pave the way for others. But the Co-Governance Platform is not simply that. Many cases have been recorded when certain citizens have joined the Platform not only to file their own complaints, but also to solve a series of problems that concern entire communities. The next case is quite interesting since it is about the social assistance which represents a significant part of our government’s social policies and the state budget and an issue which unfortunately has been subject to political rhetoric and endless abuse over the years. The social welfare payment has not been randomly granted to those who do not deserve it and despite a broad debate over the social assistance reform and the harsh measures we have taken against abuses, including more than 10 000 needy families in the social assistance for the first time ever, there are still problems. The implemented scheme was not absolutely perfect. Meanwhile the scheme we have developed and is currently being implemented is the best we have ever had. This is a case of a citizen who addressed the Platform to raise his voice against one injustice.
Adela, co-governance coordinator: The Albania we want Platform builds forts to protect the citizens. I am saying this metaphorically since the Platform tackle every problem and complaint the citizens file with it. On the other hand, this Platform also tears down forts when individuals or a certain group of individuals seek to speculatively benefit by resorting to dishonest practices. The case I want to present has to do with a denunciation made by Mr. Agim Murrja against four families, three of them living in Durres and another one living abroad but still benefiting a social welfare payment from Dibra district. With the denunciation reported, the Platform put the relevant institutions in motion and it was then the State Social Service that set up a working group which verified the case and found out that the four families benefited such payment unfairly.
Agim Murrja: First and foremost, I would like to commend Mr. Prime Minister Edi Rama for the excellent work he has done to date. Secondly, I am here today not to deny the social welfare payment to certain people, but to report and shed light over this case. Everywhere there is a social stratification in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories. But the local residents in the area where I live, the lowest social categories have been sent to the top, whereas the upper ones have been sent to the bottom of this hierarchy. Therefore, I have a lot of to complain about the administration of the commune of Luznia, which has done injustice. If we are to look into details there are a lot of things to be improved, but I have written a complaint over one aspect only. I’m not here to remove people from the social assistance scheme, because the local residents where I come from are all entitled to the social welfare payment. The government has provided significant funding but the local road infrastructure is very poor and no one knows where this funding has ended up.
PM Edi Rama: I have greatest respect for your commitment because this is not about to deny the social welfare payment to a number of families, but it is about allocating this payment to the families that truly deserve it. If thee four families receive social welfare payment pretending as of being Dibra residents while resident in Durres and abroad, then there are four other families who have been denied the right to such an assistance.
As for your concern over the functioning of the former communes, I have to admit this is a real concern, not only for your commune, and it is a concern that needs to be fully addressed by mayors, who should press ahead with the implementation of the administrative reform. The unnecessary personnel of the former communes, who get paid for doing nothing, is intolerable. The delegation of certain competences and responsibilities to these communes is also unjustifiable. Former communes should serve as service delivery centres for local residents. They should act as the daily platform of co-governance of mayors with citizens. The former communes should be there to listen to the voice of every citizen and not to deal with jobs they cannot and should not deal with. Meanwhile, I believe we all agree that the government can never do enough to match the needs because the inherited needs are huge. However, the government is massively investing in the region of Dibra and the Arberi Road is the major strategic investment that will lead to a major transformation to the benefit of your children and the future of the region.
The next case is that of the citizens who are neglected and ignored following a severe damage due to nature or major causes. This is about cases of disasters which are recorded and assessments are made, but the victims never receive due compensation. The coming case from Tropoja typically shows how a citizen solves his own problem, solving at the same time the problem of dozens and hundreds of others.
Ernest, co-governance coordinator: I will introduce before you the case of Mr. Agim Toskaj, a Tropoja town resident, Margegaj administrative unit. Mr Toskaj joined the Platform www.shqiperiaqeduam.al, to file his complaint to the Ministry of Defence seeking compensation for natural disaster damages. In 2016, an electrical fault sparked fire and Mr. Toska’s house was destroyed and rendered uninhabitable for him, his wife and their five children. As soon as the Platform forwarded the complaint to the Ministry of Defence, the latter considered the case and included Mr Toskaj on the priority list of citizens who are entitled to receive compensation for this disaster.
Agim Toskaj: Two years ago, my house was engulfed in flames due to an electrical fault. Damage assessment process has been carried out and the due files have been compiled. We have addressed to the state offices in Tirana, Bajram Curr, and Kukes, but no solution had been found so far. A month ago, we joined the Platform and thanks to the persistence of Mr, whom I want to appreciate, my family received a compensation. Thank you everyone! I would like to appreciate all citizens who address the platform www.shqiperiaqeduam.al.
PM Edi Rama: The Co-Governance Platform doesn’t discriminate between the rich and the poor. It doesn’t discriminate between the young and old, the people living in the cities and those living in countryside. It does serves to equal citizens of the Republic of Albania from the very moment they join the Platform. In this country, where for years someone had to look for a middleman, a friend, acquaintances, join a political party or even pay bribes in order to have a public service delivered, the Platform eliminates all of these aforementioned phenomena for anyone who chooses to join it. The others, who instead of spending three minutes only – even just to test us and let them then say “this was a lie” – and choose to keep on looking for friends, middlemen and pay bribe, I can tell them they are completely wrong. Those who have to pay bribe in exchange of a medical service, they are wrong. It takes just three minutes and no need to go anywhere. Just use your smartphone, access the Platform and you will instantly receive a reply. The Platform places high utmost priority to solving the healthcare service problems as it immediately notifies the Minister of Health and relevant structures act instantly.
Florian, co-governance coordinator: The Co-Governance Platform is being accessed by the individuals and the businesses alike. The next case refers to a translation services company which is represented today by Mr. Elton Puka. The company is called “Alba Global Group”, which has translated the European Union legislation for the Ministry of Integration, which is now part of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and it was denied the payment for more than a year. He addressed to the Platform on July 12 and now has his problem solved.
Elton Puka: I represent a unique business in Albania, an intellectual business in translation services. We have run into great deal of difficulties over the past year. Our company has translated the EU acquis communautaire for 2016-2017 without receiving the due payment. We did everything we could but receiving no response. Most recently we filed our complaint to the Co-Governance Platform and we found utmost commitment from the Platform’s staff and our problem was resolved.
PM Edi Rama: Thank you very much everyone! I would like to reiterate that due measures will be put in place for each case. We are currently working on a new format for a transparent report on the measures against those responsible. A part of them are hampering this process of course because of a miserable culture created over the years, while many others are parasites and predators. There is no other way for the latter but their removal from the job or bringing charges against them.
Again, thank you very much everyone who attended this meeting today to help us and not their own selves, because their problems have been already solved now, but they helped us to convey the simple truth to other citizens that the Co-Governance Platform is a modern instrument which we are being asked by other governments to provide to as they want to make use of this experience. It is a similar development to what happened with the launch of the modern digital office at Tirana Municipality many years ago. The Platform really combats the small endemic yet worrisome corruption practices that affect all citizens.
