USDS: Albania A Difficult Country To Do Business, Due To Corruption, PPP And Non-Implementation Of Contracts

Nga OraNews Përditësimi i fundit 10 Shtator 2020, 13:18

For 7 years in a row, Albania continues to be an unpopularcountry for foreign investments. The USDS report highlights that the countrymust meet conditions before the first intergovernmental conference for theopening of EU negotiations.

The report says that despite a sound legal framework andprogress in e-reform, foreign investors perceive Albania as a difficult placeto do business. They cite corruption, especially in the judiciary, lack oftransparency in public procurement and poor contract enforcement, as ongoingproblems in Albania.

Reports of corruption in government procurement arecommon. The increasing use of public-private partnership (PPP) contracts hasreduced competition opportunities, including for foreign investors, in infrastructureand other sectors.

Property rights continue to be a challenge in Albaniabecause a clear title is difficult to win. There have been cases whereindividuals are suspected of manipulating the judicial system to obtain illegalland titles.

Overlapping property titles is a serious and commonissue. The process of compensating for land confiscated by the former communistregime continues to be inefficient and inadequate.

The Albanian government has passed several property lawsthat are uncoordinated and not really effective. According to the EU progressreport, the country has not yet properly addressed property compensation

The report further states that the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 ranked Albania 106th out of 180 countries, a decrease of seven countries from 2018. As a result, Albania and Northern Macedonia are now perceived as the most corrupt countries in the Western Balkans.

Some of the findings in the report

  •  Corruption is a neuralgic point associated with a lack of desire for foreign investment.
  •  Lack of transparency especially in public procurement.
  •  Difficult contracts to enforce.
  •  Corruption with the government and above all tenders is ubiquitous.
  •  The uncontrolled growth of PPP contracts has destroyed the market and made competition impossible.
  •  Lack of cost-benefit analysis of these contracts has ruined the competition.
  •  American businesses face corruption cases and requests for such payments.
  •  Various US investors have faced commercial issues with private and public entities including international arbitration. In 2019 and 2020 an American company left as a result of dubious judicial decisions and questioning decision-making by other parties in an investment-related matter.
  •  Properties continue to be a problem especially the issue of ownership certificate. There are plenty of cases of individuals manipulating the judicial system to obtain properties that are not theirs.
  •  Albania is perceived as one of the countries with high corruption, emdem corruption continues to undermine the rule of law and to manipulate or inhibit economic development.
  •  The US no longer ranks first for foreign direct investment. This indicates the low level of American investment