Corridor 8, held hostage by the Sarandopulos and BE-HA-SE companies — pages 14–15 Corridor 8, held hostage by the Sarandopulos and BE-HA-SE companies pages 14–15

While people are talking about an uncompromising fight against corruption, and about commissions and other bodies to eradicate it, few may have considered that success in this regard will be difficult, if not impossible, if the groups, organizations, companies or individuals from abroad who operate or work in Albania are immune to the “anti-corruption” crusade— While people are talking about an uncompromising fight against corruption, and about commissions and other bodies to eradicate it, few may have considered that success in this regard will be difficult, if not impossible, if the groups, organizations, companies or individuals from abroad who operate or work in Albania are immune to the “anti-corruption” crusade. A few days after taking office as head of government, Prime Minister Meta, at a meeting with the “Friends of Albania,” denounced representatives of international institutions covering Albania, various experts, as well as firms and companies undertaking projects in Albania, for speculation and abuses. The truth is that a good many foreign organizations operating in Albania are no less corrupt than Albanian officials, and no less inclined to seek illicit profits. If the multimillion-dollar funds allocated to Albania are being spent on objectives that are only partially achieved, as a result of a “do it and move on” approach, this is to a considerable extent also the “work” of foreigners who “win” tenders or exclusive rights, and secure the right to supervise customs or financial activities in general. Naturally, given Albania’s ties with international organizations, and above all the fact that our country is unable to move forward without assistance from international donors, one of the main channels of corruption is cooperation between Albanian officials and foreign representatives. Thus, there is no other way to explain why foreign companies that breach their contracts with the Albanian state face no consequences; indeed, it is difficult even to get proceedings initiated against them. Likewise, for similar reasons, although Albanian officials have said of some of these companies that they “are not serious,” they continue working—or, more accurately, pocketing their share—as before. Foreign supervisors, who are in reality the overseers of projects, also seem to play a negative role in this regard. As a result, even in the rare cases when representatives of the Albanian state speak out about the failure to implement one or another clause of a contract, these supervisors join in defending that position, in chorus with the heads of the foreign companies, certainly taking advantage of the low level of expertise in our administration. If there is to be talk of help from abroad in the fight against corruption, it should above all involve fighting the tentacles of foreign speculation—cutting off the tentacles of foreign speculators who fill their pockets with the handouts given to the Albanian economy.

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Minister of Privatization Zef Preçi speaks to “Koha Jonë” “Not every document containing the word ‘strategy’ can be called a strategy.” This is the view of the new Minister of Public Economy and Privatization on what has been done so far in selling off national assets. Preçi appears to disagree with many of Bufi’s decisions, but, more importantly, he is determined to pursue all the violations publicized by officials of the Ministry. “Any violation committed by any Ministry official will be referred to the Prosecutor’s Office for criminal proceedings,” he declared, challenging the rest of the administration, which has long compromised with the violations it finds in the documents of predecessors or even colleagues. Preçi has also explained some of his ideas for further privatization of national assets. pages 16–17

The editorial office of “Koha Jonë” is looking to hire a female (or male) translator of English. Applicants must have graduated from the Faculty of English or passed an examination before the relevant committee. Applicants should be up to 27 years of age; candidates who also know Italian will be given preference. Interested applicants should come to the offices of the “Koha Jonë” newspaper between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., starting today. The pay is high. Candidates must present their diploma or proof of language proficiency.