AIS: Concern for Lack of Transparency through the Non-Publication of the Report on the Implementation of the State Budget in the middle of 2021 (legal obligation with a specific deadline)

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AIS / Open Data Albania draws attention and raises Concerns about the Lack of Transparency through the Non-publication of the Report on the Implementation of the State Budget by mid-2021 (legal obligation with a specific deadline).

Missing Report on the Implementation of the State Budget by mid-2021

AIS / Open Data Albania finds serious legal violations by the Ministry of Finance of the Law on Budget System Management. Specifically, the Ministry is not publishing the Mid-Year Report on Budget Implementation 2021, which provides data on “Hot” topics such as Debts, Arbitrage Liabilities, Public Costs for Concessions and Failures, and Over-Expenditures.

The team working for Open Data Albania finds that this is the first time that a Law on Budget comes to the Assembly together with the MTBP Medium Term Budget Plan, but with no State Report on the Budget for the closing year.

  • The Ministry of Finances has not yet published the Mid-Year Budget Implementation Report 2021, despite the fact that according to the Organic Budget Law it is a legal obligation of the latter to publish it.
  • This report is drafted in accordance with LAW NO. 9936 DATED 26.6.2008 “ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE BUDGET SYSTEM IN THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA”, AS AMENDED “, where Article 46 “Review of the Budget implementation” provides that:

In June of each year, but not later than the day of submission of the medium-term budget program to the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Finances submits to the Council of Ministers the medium-term budget program and a report on the implementation of the current year’s budget, which is published. This report contains:

  1. an overall assessment of the country’s economic situation, macroeconomic, fiscal, and budgetary indicators for the 5-month period of the current year;
  2.  b) an expected assessment of macroeconomic, fiscal, and budgetary indicators by the end of the current year;
  3.  c) the measures are foreseen to be taken by the Government, in order for the indicators to be realized according to the forecasts; 
  4.  ç) the proposal of the Minister of Finances for the revision or not of the budget.

Until 2020, this report has been published regularly, but for 2021 there is still no publication on the official website of the MFE.

This year:

  1. Either the Ministry is in a state of Irresponsibility and Inability to finalize the report,
  2. or the Report is already finalized, but the State is censoring it by not allowing for its publication and transparency.
Report on the Implementation of the State Budget in the middle of 2020

This document was to be published together with the Medium-Term Budget Plan on the website of the Ministry itself and on the Website of the Assembly, as part of the package of documents accompanying the Budget Law.

AIS / Open Data Albania states that the 2021 budget year is characterized by issues with the budget consolidation regarding electoral expenditures, non-implementation of the investment plan for the Reconstruction Fund, and finally, Serious Costs related to Economic Compensations in Arbitration and other judicial costs incurred with the Albanian state being found guilty.

A few days ago, the public debate at the Assembly between the Chairperson of the ruling majority and the leader of the opposition regarding this report was accompanied by metaphors and insults about the source of the articulated data.