Majko: Customs are mafia dens
The mafia controls the share of taxes that fill the state budget
Majko: Customs
are mafia dens
“I have information from NATO and several NGOs that in the customs office of Durrës there are mafia structures that must be eliminated”
BY B. KASMI
Prime Minister Majko is advancing the argument he has always used: to move from one scandal of his government to a smaller, or fabricated, scandal of the opposition. During the 9 months of his government, through government decisions and appointments, he has installed relatives of ministers, MPs and government figures in Albanian customs, and now the head of government, finding himself in a difficult position in the face of the NGOs’ report, reveals that his government supposedly left a mafia system in the customs. Prime Minister Majko is engaging in heavy speculation and has begun threatening people from the opposition by name, in order to divert attention from the report on the alarming corruption in his government.
It is clear that the NGOs, with their latest report, have provided a clear radiography of the country’s governing and administrative structure over this 9-month period. The NGOs have not speculated with government decisions, but with concrete facts that clearly show the serious political and economic situation in the country. After Majko’s government decisions and his appointments, the customs administration is made up entirely of people close to the government and the Socialist Party. All the directors and their deputies in the key customs posts are close appointments of high-ranking government officials.
The NGOs’ report cites by name how customs have been turned into clientelist and corrupt centers. People close to ministers and PS leaders have been placed in key posts at the Durrës customs office and other customs offices. The Prime Minister is trying to strike at the opposition with allusions to people close to it, but he cannot avoid the direct responsibility that his government bears for this situation.
At the Durrës customs office, which is the most important entry and exit point for goods, according to the information he cited, there are mafia structures. If this is true, then the responsibility lies with the government he leads. If it is not true, then we are dealing with another political speculation meant to cover up the government’s inability and failure.
The NGOs’ report, mentioned by Majko, has raised serious concerns about corruption, clientelism and the capture of the customs administration. Instead of being accountable, the prime minister has chosen to accuse others and spread political smoke. The opposition demands that all cases of abuse be fully clarified and that political responsibility be taken by those who installed this system in customs.
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