CNA Investigation/ Abuses of Public Administration Officials

2025-12-03 13:22:00, Denoncim CNA

Various officials have worked in institutions and very high levels of the Albanian state. Until before the arrival of the justice reform, or even beyond it. Today, many officials are behind bars, others are facing the law. But there are also those who may have been in institutions and structures and high levels for decades, but have fled.

Tenders, public investments and the conclusion is that the money has gone into the pockets of corrupt officials. Projects that have not been completed, investments that are where the money is and officials who have filled their pockets. The political class comes and goes. The administration, the lower-level officials are among those who bear quite a bit of responsibility.

CNA has started an investigation and will bring day after day different names of public administration officials who are in office or who were previously employees of public procurement offices. Responsible officials, part of project implementation units. And today we are starting from the most painful. The most painful is the Ministry of Health. QSUT, hospitals, investments. Have investments been made in these hospitals, over the years? Absolutely. Hundreds of millions of euros and their condition is catastrophic. The political class comes and goes, the minister, deputy minister, director circulate. While that official down there lines his pockets.

CNA Investigation/ Abuses of Public Administration Officials

One of the cases is Betina Kalaja. An official for 19 years at the Ministry of Health, in the procurement office. An official removed from office. Exactly like the corrupt judges or prosecutors of the justice reform. But the vetting did not catch this one. She filled her pockets, took the plane and left.

Betina Kalaja ends up with apartments, villas, as high as what is called the "Vodafone" tower in the center of Tirana, in Green Coast, or at the Aviation Field. How can a simple official with a salary of 500 thousand or 700 thousand lek create such wealth? It is a simple question and there is one answer: she is suspected of corruption.

We also find the answer in the questions: How much funds have been circulated to the Ministry of Health? How many projects have involved Betina Kalaja and other "Betinas" of the public administration? It's not just a name. We're taking it as an example.

The judges leave, the investigations continue, the excluded, while those in the administration who go and increase their wealth, no one investigates them, no one evaluates them. Can a minister commit corruption on his own? Can an official commit corruption on his own? Or a director? Maybe it's worse than the humor of "Orange", where there is an honest person, a corrupt person and a director who collects.

And if you look at the pyramid, officials like Betina are in no way exempt from the symbolism of corruption. Not just as words. But as officials who have created wealth, who have been part of project implementation units, part of investments in hospitals and health centers, which are where the money is coming from. Dozens of Health Ministers have left, but Betina has been in office longer than any other minister, almost 19 years in the public procurement office.

CNA Investigation/ Abuses of Public Administration Officials

And like her, there are dozens of others. There is a lot of talk about protecting the administration, but when does the administration protect us? What is the answer we get? It is enough to look at them, to open some files. Many of them may have been filed, years have passed. Such is the law, the consequences are there. The official gets apartments, villas and many houses, while the citizen continues to knock on the doors of the health service. Because there were officials like Betina Kalaja, whose whereabouts are unknown today. There are dozens of others, like this and worse. But who are no exception because they are the main causes that with their "art" of corruption have reduced health, education or many areas of Albanian life to a miserable, painful state. Hundreds of millions of euros have been spent and the result is one that affects citizens every day.

It is not only the political caste that is responsible for this. It is also the second or third lowest levels of power, those of the percentage pyramid, who are increasing their wealth every day./CNA