Dismissal storm at the Saranda Customs Office
Prime Minister Meta orders: Check the assets of all customs officers and how they acquired them, then request that the Prosecutor’s Office initiate criminal proceedings
. A dismissal storm at the Saranda Customs Office. Former Deputy Director of the Anti-Smuggling Department Arben Bajraktari referred to the Prosecutor’s Office for criminal proceedings. Page 7
Customs officers abandoning their jobs
Being a customs officer a year ago and earlier was a sought-after and lucrative job. However, according to information held by the prosecution authorities and the Directorate of Economic Crime at the Ministry of Public Order, there now seems to be a change in this line of work. Some customs officers have asked to be relieved of their duties, while others are dissatisfied with the earnings they received a year ago, because they are now afraid of punishment under the law. The facts made public—that Director Petrit Ago has cut off their source of income and multiplied the revenue flowing into the state budget from this sector—make you wonder how many millions and millions of dollars the Albanian state has lost because of the failure to collect revenue from this sector, vital to the Albanian economy. Although Director Ago’s work should be praised, within these limits, the prosecution should also be criticized for not having arrested a single high-level smuggler linked to politics, which is itself at a high level.
The customs officers’ abandonment of work that was described as a “gold mine” makes it clear what happens when the state is determined to enforce the law: things work exceptionally well, roads are built and public order is strengthened. There is further evidence from the roads sector, too, after Sokol Nako became minister. In just a few weeks, he did what the former PSD ministry, Ingrit Shuli, had failed to accomplish. Everyone can witness the Tirana-Ndroq-Plepa road to Durrës and the Tirana-Vorë-Durrës road, which Minister Nako had repaired in record time. Most of Tirana’s politicians, who spend all day drinking coffee and chattering about “when will this Ilir Meta be overthrown”(!), have been surprised to see the prime minister go out unannounced, by day or by night, to inspect Albania’s roads. These kinds of politicians, or failed former government officials, are used to staying shut away in their offices, forgetting that a good government official trusts, but also checks.
Last night, Prime Minister Meta formally asked the Minister of Finance to review customs reference prices and move towards lowering them, just as he ordered the verification of customs officers’ assets. Returning to the editorial’s opening point—that customs officers continue to abandon their jobs—this shows that discipline has not weakened; on the contrary, it has grown stronger. It would therefore be good for this “customs exodus” to continue, thereby increasing state-budget revenues from customs as well. The discipline shown by the Director of Customs should also be passed on to other directors in the state administration, because in this way, little by little and day by day, we move towards the rule of law, which we have sought since 1991 but have still not fully achieved.