Conference on Exchanging Knowledge and Ideas for Open and Transparent Governance – AIS presents the Justice Access database as an inspiring model for OGP in the Region

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Justice Access – The Magistrates’ Registry is the latest database created by the AIS organization promoting open data for Albania.

The Data Mining Magistrate’s Register is designed to increase access and public trust in the Critical Reform in the Judicial System.

At the invitation of the National Democratic Institute NDI Montenegro, this Civil Society Initiative for Improving Access, Control, and Public Trust in Justice was presented on December 8 at an International Learning Event focusing on the exchange of knowledge and experiences regarding the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

Project Director Aranita Brahaj explained how AIS has contributed by creating this essential instrument to improve public access, control, and trust in the Justice Reform and Justice Institutions, probing into the integrity of Magistrates after the Reform.

The Magistrates’ Registry involves creating a Passport with data and documents for each judge, prosecutor and justice official.

The information provides public access to familiarize themselves with the profile, integrity, career, performance, and aspects of professionalism, ensuring control over the integrity of the Magistrates.

Similarly, profiles have been established for the new institutions of justice, where the catalogue displays all decisions and documents related to the institution and decision-making.

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Every day, citizens click on the Passports of judges and prosecutors investigating corrupt affairs of high-ranking officials already under accusation. Beneficiaries of Enhanced Access to Magistrates’ and Justice Institutions’ Data and Documents include media representatives, justice system employees, academics, organizations, and the general public.

As part of the activities of this project, AIS has prepared a Policy Paper on Legal Regulations and Practices that the new institutions of justice have established regarding access. This policy document reviews current practices and provides conclusions and recommendations for the future.

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The Magistrates’ Registry is an activity of the project with the financial support of the Commission for Democracy’s Small Grants Program in the US Embassy in Tirana. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the State Department.

Four years after the Earthquake. The government has no concrete results in mitigating its consequences. Problems with the Budget, corrupt tenders and serious cases of abuse

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Four years after the Earthquake of November 26, 2019 and its severe Consequences in human life, housing and infrastructure, AIS finds that the State and the Albanian Government cannot make an inventory of where we are in dealing with its consequences and rehabilitation.

November 2023 There is no Clear Report on:

  • the number of families provided with housing through the Reconstruction Program
  • Reconstructed public works,
  • Families treated with individual grants,
  • Progress in reconstruction for these cases or
  • completed public works.

Similarly, AIS/Open Data Albania finds that the Budgetary Discipline for the Financing of this Project is a missing process where no planning, granting, contracting, allocation and implementation data are reconciled.

Neither the Government, nor any of the 11 affected Municipalities guarantee a deadline for the Finalization of the Reconstruction Program after the Consequences of the Earthquake.

AIS, an organization also known as Open Data Albania has carefully monitored and raised awareness about issues with this program. In the same way, it has been litigated against the clientelistic law in violation of the constitutional rights, the special law through which Contractual Businesses were designated in the reconstruction.

4 years after the Earthquake and the announcement of the Program, we are sharing with you some findings and evidence on the mismanagement of the Reconstruction Program, specifically:

  • on February 17, 2020, the Albanian Government presented at the Donors’ Conference in Brussels held by the European Commission, the need for Aid for the Reconstruction Program after the earthquake with a cost of over 1 billion Euros.
  • In this conference, Donors and states, based on financial requests for recovery, promised aid and credit for Albania as a State affected by an Earthquake in the amount of 1.15 billion euros or about 140 billion Lek. See Link
 
 
  • In the fourth budget year of this program 2023, AIS/Open Data Albania finds that the State Budget has consolidated until March 2023 only 75 billion lek (16.6 billion in 2022; 29.5 billion in 2021; 28.9 billion in 2022, and only 5 billion Lek in 2023).
  • The absurdity is that in the meantime, through 11 municipalities and the Albanian Development Fund, the Government has announced Public Procurements and Winners for 856 tenders with a total fund limit of 96.65 billion ALL, where 84.69 billion ALL result from contracts.
  • The difference in Reconciliation becomes deeper by analyzing that apart from Public Procurement, the Reconstruction Program has distributed 11.5 billion ALL in individual grants.
  • Individual Grant plus Public Procurement require about 108.15 billion, while the State Budget without detailing the works and objects of this Program gives only 75 billion. Another 7 billion is planned for 2024. A difference still remains and none of the Ministers of Finance who have exercised their duties in this period have made explanations in Parliament for such Budgetary Discrepancies. Link
 
  • Corrupt Reconstruction Law. AIS has previously asked the Constitutional Court to annul the Normative Act of December 2019 through which the Government decided to make a non-detailed Budget of Investments and Contracts for the Reconstruction program. The law created different procedures from the Public Procurement Legislation and established contracts with Limited Procedures, shortened deadlines and table bidding (outside the electronic tendering system). For AIS, this law limits economic freedoms as constitutional freedoms and makes the process clientelistic.
  • The lawsuit in the Constitutional Court, prepared by AIS, was joined by 28 Opposition MPs, but the Constitutional Court in the period 2021-2022 did not function with a full judicial body. Out of 7 judges, 4 Voted for the repeal of the Corrupt Law. At least 5 judges need to agree for the law to be repealed by the Constitutional Court. Read more Constitutional Control over Corrupt Laws, Vacancies of several years in the Constitutional Court bring Serious Consequences for the Prevention of Corruption by Law – Albanian Institute of Science (ais.al)
  • On the eve of the 2021 elections, Public Procurement was deepened with limited Problematic Procedures and outside the electronic system, where the emphasis was on Contracting for the Reconstruction Program.
 
 
  • Individual Grants for Reconstruction were given through the State Treasury to Individuals who had minor damage to their Homes. Decision-making for distribution and payments through Treasury Transactions were made prominently on election dates, especially in April 2021. AIS informed the CEC about this Misuse of Public Funds during the electoral period. The administrative investigation of the Chairman of the Electoral Commission and KAS did not clearly refer to the need for investigation and punishment for such cases. Read more
 
     
   
   
 
  • Among the contracting companies, they managed to penetrate businesses with problems and owned by people announced as internationally wanted for drug trafficking Link
 
 

AIS Open Data Albania expresses concern for the lack of seriousness with the financial transparency of the Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Program and the need for a fairer legal regulation for the handling of emergency cases and programs for the implementation of needs after Natural Disasters.

 
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The database for the Reconstruction Municipality and the Albanian Fund for Development ADF are a product for transparency Created by AIS / Open Data Albania

 

The Money and Power Database enables the public control-verification of the phenomenon of nepotism.

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Media reports that such phenomenon affects 70% of Senior Officials

Brahaj: The appointment of family members risks escalating into Structured Corruption

The Inside Story Program by journalist Luljeta PROGNI brought an Investigation Report during the month of November, with evidence on concrete cases of employment of politicians’ family members in State Institutions.

The report entitled “Political offsprings, coveted institutions transformed into nurseries of nepotism” provided evidence extracted from AIS Money and Power database to illustrate Ministers, MPs, Mayors having more than one family member employed in public administration as in Ministries, Independent Institutions, Publicly Owned Companies (SOCs), and Local Government Units.

Inside Story November 2023

Analyzing the data from the asset declarations of 50 MPs, the program found that all of the MPs (subject to analysis) had close family members working in the Public Administration, with none of them standing apart in this regard.

Inside Story

Inside Story is a series of investigative documentaries aimed at transparency and identifying mistakes in governance.

The documentary and journalist Progni revealed that “…the road paved for high positions for the heirs of politicians is not only a phenomenon of the totalitarian regime, but often a project adapted to the rules of the game after the 90s.” The documentary features Politicians and officials, biological heirs of important people with “ready-made paths and no public merits”.

Evidence Based Approach and databases owned by AIS. The Money and Power database was created as an instrument that guarantees public scrutiny of the integrity and interests of high officials. This enables public control of cases of Conflict of Interest, Nepotism, Economic and Family Interests of Politicians. The database enables the public to access asset declaration and encourages investigative journalism to create evidence-based reports on cases of abuse, conflict of interest or nepotism. The documents and information of this database contain consistent and online data for more than 1500 subjects from 2003 when the Albanian Law forced its officials to declare.

Inside Story also interviewed the director of the program, Aranita Brahaj, providing thus an opportunity to emphasize some serious consequences of nepotism and favoritism. Thus, favoritism-based appointments have also affected the promotions made by the Parliament in Independent and Constitutional Institutions, where the ones promoted are always the politicians themselves, former MPs or people close to them. Besides, family appointments in political administration have also created ground and cases where the parties in close relation with each other create a structured corrupt circle.

Thus

Aranita Brahaj, Project Director: It is like a chain: Those promoted to the Central Election Commission become candidates for the People’s Advocate, from the High Court to the High State Audit, and from there to the Central Bank or Financial Monitoring Institutions. MPs going to the Bank’s Board. What do you expect? If you start to make the chain of names, you realize that the ones who dare to run for office or promotion are only “those” with political connections.

Aranita Brahaj, Project Director: – We see that nepotism results not only in discrimination, inequality, missed opportunities, wrong quality in public administration, but also in some of the most serious consequences, i.e. structured corruption groups.

Money and Power is part of the activities of the Open Data Access and Transparency program in sectors exposed to the risk of corruption, activities for which funding is closed in February 2024.

CEPI project with Transparency International, Workshop with journalists and activists, Monitoring of public sector databases and use of evidence based practices to accountability

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The organization AIS, otherwise known as Open Data Albania, organized a workshop with journalists and activists on the topic of Monitoring Public Sectors, Databases and guaranteeing Accountability through Evidence based practices.

This event was held as part of the EU 4 Rule of Law Project: Civic Engagement for Public Integrity in the Western Balkans and Turkey, a project led by Transparency International, in collaboration with local partners and organizations. The Project is Funded by the European Union.

See the agenda HERE

Albanian journalists and activists worked in the workshop to increase their knowledge on issues related to anti-corruption, evidence based practices as a basis for accountability and the use of databases and other tools for monitoring the public sector. An important moment of the workshop is also the work to create a Registry of High Level Corruption Cases, as seen by Journalists. Below you can find photos and videos from the Workshop  





 

 

Presentation Open Corporates Albania

Presentation Money and Power Asset Declaration

Presentation Open Procurement Albania

Presentation Open Spending Data

Activism and Civil Society for Drafting, Consultation and Implementation of the State Budget in Parliament

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The organization AIS/Open Data Albania organized, on October 23rd, in the city of Lezhe, a training with activists, journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations. The subject of the training “Activism and Civil Society for Drafting, Consultation and Implementation of the State Budget in Parliament”.

The event was held within the framework of the Project “Increasing the Parliament’s Responsiveness to Citizens’ Concerns”, supported by the British Embassy in Tirana and implemented by a consortium led by IDM in partnership with AIS and Citizens Channel.

The objective of the Training was to raise the capacities of CSOs, activists and the media to contribute to the State Budget Planning, as well as Policies of Distribution and Expenditure of Public Money.

This training cycle will also be held in the municipalities of Lezhë, Diber, Shkodër, Kamëz, Tiranë and Malësi e Madhe, targeting representatives from Civil Society; Activists and Local Journalists.

 

 

The training aims to strengthen comprehension and monitoring skills in regards to the Drafting, Approval and Reporting Process of the State Budget in the Parliament, as well as raise responsiveness and participation capabilities during the phases of Planning and Approval of the State Budget and policies concerning Public Finances. Another aims of the training is to inform about the existing legal instruments who allow for participation, proposals or hearings in the Parliamentary Committees.

See the agenda in Albanian HERE

See the agenda in English HERE

Activists from the Lezha district, apart from gaining insight from the lectures and the training curriculum, worked on practical cases, to help them gain a better response faculty regarding the budgeting and distribution of Public Money. The area of Education and its budgeting  was one of the moments that aroused the most interest among the participants, emphasizing that the region faces two types of difficulties. The urban area faces limited capacities in public schools, overcrowded classes, lessons in shifts and a limited number of teachers. Meanwhile, in rural areas, schools operate with a very limited number of students, endangering the very existence of classes and schools and adversely affecting the education and life of the respective residents.

 

 

The event also highlighted the need for more support and more dignity for parents of children with specific needs and better management of social protection.

This project aims to strengthen the Parliament’s efforts to foster an enabling environment for the inherent engagement of citizens in policy making and legislative processes in the country, as a means of promoting public interest and building trust in the institution.

 

 

The Need to improve the Public Procurement

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As part of CI-EU-NPA “Improving the Debate on Policies and Accountability to fulfill basic rights through the creation of the Platform for Negotiations of Cluster I Albania”, AIS held a roundtable on the Needs for Change in Public Procurement Legislation. Member s of the Parliament, Mrs. Jorida Tabaku and Mr. Eduard Shalsi and representatives from the Public Procurement Agency, Mrs. Xhoana Ristani was part of this roundtable. This document comes within the framework of the Consultation process that the Albanian Government has announced for its Legal Initiative with Amendments to this Law. AIS has annylized this draft law taking into consieration EU Accession process where Public Procurement is cpart of Cluster 1. The three important aspects proposed by the Council of Ministers in the Draft are as follows:

See the agenda HERE

See the document HERE

a) Bringing the procurement process out of the public domain, that is, the inclusion of private-non-public entities that will play the role of Contracting Authorities in the public procurement process;

b) The establishment of another SPE Electronic Procurement System which in the draft is presented to us with the first two innovations SPE harmonized and integrated with other electronic systems and the second SPE which is accessed by paid users.

c) Defining Artificial Intelligence as a mechanism that will serve for the development of the SPE for the standardization of technical specifications, as well as the development of the dynamic purchase and electronic auction system using advanced Artificial Intelligence technology and robotic processes, etc.

 

AIS / Open Data Albania presented its position and analysis regarding these three aspects of the Legal Initiative of the Council of Ministers.

This event takes place in the framework of C1-EU-NPA “Improving the Debate on Policies and Accountability to fulfill basic rights through the creation of the Platform for Negotiations of Cluster I Albania”, a project implemented by four Albanian organizations: CSDG, ISP, AHC and AIS, with the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Albania in Tirana.

Comments and Recommendations on Public Consultation – Amendment to the Law on Public Procurement AIS Open Data Albania

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The Albanian Institute of Science, widely recognized as the driving force behind Open Data Albania (AIS/Open Data), has undertaken a thorough review of the Draft Law proposing amendments to the existing Law on Public Procurement. Specifically, we have closely examined the Notice for Public Consultation regarding this draft law, which addresses various additions and changes to Law No. 162, dated December 23, 2020, concerning Public Procurement.
The Albanian Government introduced these Draft Amendments on June 20th, and they are currently available on its website for Public Consultation, welcoming input from relevant stakeholders.

 

Given our organization’s dedication to matters pertaining to the Public Procurement and Contracting sector, AIS/Open Data has previously participated in public consultations involving State Institutions engaged in this domain.

 

Concerning the June 2023 Draft, which has not yet been submitted to the Assembly, AIS has communicated its Comments and Recommendations (attached) in a letter to the Albanian Government Coordinator for Information. We are particularly concerned about three new developments that the proposed law seeks to integrate into the legal framework of the Public Procurement sector. These aspects and concepts have not been clearly and exhaustively addressed, thereby conflicting with the overall Legislation or the existing regulations regarding Public Procurements. The areas of concern include:

 

  1. The concept of the Service Provider (a distinct entity from the State Procurement Authority).

 

  1. The establishment of a harmonized and paid Electronic Procurement System.

 

  1. The application of Artificial Intelligence in the Procurement Process, for which no specific laws or practices currently exist.

 

Additionally, we have evaluated the following aspects:

 

The proposed Draft Law seems premature; it lacks clear references to specific sections of the draft that align with EU Directives and introduces notions that are not regulated in our national legislation, lacking a foundation in proven models.

Certain provisions within the draft could potentially limit broad access to monitoring and participation in Public Procurements, thus posing a risk for regression.

The draft itself presents partial and non-exhaustive provisions for some concepts.

The explanatory report does not provide sufficient information about the underlying models and does not cite an evaluation document analysing the need for intervention.

 

AIS / Open Data Albania requests the Council of Ministers to withdraw the draft from the ongoing Consultation and Advancement process, returning it for further review within the Institutional Working Groups.

 

The Document

 

We have attached the letter we sent to the Coordinator of Information at the Council of Ministers, including our Comments and Recommendations for Public Consultation.

 

Looking ahead, in September, AIS/Open Data Albania will be organizing an event focused on the Need for Improvements in the Legislation of Public Procurements.

 

We highly value your attention, cooperation, and active participation in this essential matter.

Save the date: Open Data Youth Fellowship Master Class on Enhancing Electoral Integrity through Data and Evidence-Based Approaches

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Dear friends,

We would like to share with you an invitation to participate in a Master Class Event where Data Analysts and activists who have completed the first cycle of training as part of the Open Data Youth Fellowship and Network will share with new members of the Network evidence, analysis and activities on Electoral Integrity, improvement through data and evidence-based processes.

  • Who can participate: People who share an Interest and Engagement in Electoral Integrity
  • Venue: Rogner Hotel, Vienna Meeting Room
  • When: July 3rd, 14:30 to 17:00
  • Topic: Electoral Integrity, improvement through data and evidence-based processes
  • Project :

This event is part of activities for increasing the capacities of young people, through The OpenDataFellowship Youth Network, established within the Open Data, Access and Transparency over Sectors exposed to Risk of Corruption Project, supported by Sida through the Swedish Embassy in Albania (2021 – February 2024).

The participants of the first round of the Open Data Fellowship Youth Network (2021 – April 2023) will showcase data, visualizations, articles, and opinions related to electoral issues, focusing on the intricacies of the Electoral System and the Map of Problems and Irregularities.

Speakers:

  1. Electoral Mandate Allocation Projections and the Risk of Non-Representation in Voting
  1. The Media’s Influence: Unraveling the Economic Interests of Television Owners and their Impact on Elections
  • Eng. Besjana HYSA, Founder of AIS/Open Data Albania
  1. ICT for Fair Elections – Za’Lart (Raised Voice) for 2025 Elections?!
  2. Mapping  Vote Buying and Irregularities – How can we create such a map using information technology and inviting citizens to report on electoral issues?
  3. Overview of the model already applied by AIS in 2017 Elections.

Our organization, AIS, has been working with young people since December 2021 to strengthen their capacity against corruption through civic education and the improvement of fact-checking models. Events such as training sessions, forums, DataThons, individual sessions, and master classes are organized for young people, aimed at enhancing their skills and capacities in areas such as Public Speaking, Evidence-based Debates, and utilizing Open Data Albania’s philosophy and tools. The program follows a structured training curriculum and includes guidance from analysts at Open Data Albania, as well as opportunities for internships with the organization.

The Open Data Fellowship Youth Network is being established within the Open Data, Access and Transparency over Sectors exposed to Risk of Corruption Project supported by Sida through the Swedish Embassy in Albania.

Save the date for this important event: July 3rd, from 14:00 to 17:00, at Hotel Rogner Tirana. We kindly request you to confirm your participation no later than June 26th.

The event will be conducted in both Albanian and English, and simultaneous interpretation services will be provided by Mrs. Etleva Pushi.

The need for Electoral Reform. A Projection on the Distribution of 2025 MP Mandates based on the May 2023 votes shows defects in representation

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Dear Ladies,

Dear Gentlemen,

AIS, the organization promoting Open Data Albania, has just published a Projection of how mandates for MPs would be distributed in the 2025 parliamentary elections, if the electoral subjects would run with the Current Electoral Code applied, and secure as many votes as in the May 14 Elections (votes for the representation of the Subjects in the Municipal Councils).

This projection brings evidence of the distortions of the Electoral Will and non-compliance with the Principle of Representation.

The Current System (Regional Competition) creates Non-Representation even at the expense of small or new parties. The Projection based on the results of May 2023, includes 282,850 Votes of these Parties that are not translated into Mandate, that is, they do not produce any MP mandates at all. This number of votes of the Parties that cannot reach the Parliament, is as much as 21% of the voters in the latest process.

The Current Code, with the results of May 14 and with the same subjects participating in the Election (40 parties), would give the Main Party with 84 Mandates, 10 more than in the 2021 Elections (with 12 electoral subjects running).

The paradox is that this Party would manage to get 3/5ths of the Parliamentiary seats, although in the electoral process it received 188,558 less votes (in 2021, 768,134 votes, while in the May 14 election process, this electoral subject managed to receive 579 576 votes or minus 24.5%) for the municipality councils.

As it is clearly seen from this Projection, the ratio between Votes per Subject and MP Mandates is applied as an Indirect Ratio in the case of the Main Party: Less Voters and More MP Mandates.

See the published report and evidence LINK Projection of Mandate distribution for MPs in the 2025 elections based on data results for Subjects of the May 14 Electoral Process – Open Data Albania (ndiqparate.al)

If the latest elections of May 14th were parliamentary elections, and if the same formula and legal provision of Article 162 of the Electoral Code (in force) were applied for allocating the parliamentary seats, the allocation would be as follows: Socialist Party 84; Together We Win 34; The Official Democratic Party only 11; The Social Democratic Party led by Tom Doshi 9 mandates; The Agrarian Environmentalist Party led by Agron Duka 2 mandates.

What if a National Competition System was applied. If we compare the same vote result as translated into Mandates for Subjects if the country would apply a National Electoral system where Specifically:

–       If the SP would receive 579,576 votes, but the country would have a National, and not a Regional  Competition system, the SP would receive only 67 MPs. So less than 50% of the number of MPs in the Assembly.

Based on the above, AIS / Open Data Albania expresses its concern that this System does not guarantee Fair Representation and respect for the Vote, discriminating also against New Alternatives.

We emphasize the need for Electoral Reform where the Parliament commits to a Fairer Electoral System, where the will of the voters is also guaranteed.

The Analysis and the Report are part of the publications in the Open Data Albania Database.

We remain open to questions and committed to deepen our evidence-based analysis.

Tenders in the healthcare sector, 40% of procedures carry risk of clientelism, marked with a red flag

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The apprehension, on corruption charges, of a senior official from the Ministry of Health coincides with grim developments in this sector’s public contracting

AIS, through its Open Procurement Albania database – the Health category, has been monitoring all relevant procurement procedures for years, assessing and marking with a Red Flag (risk of irregularities and clientelism) several of them, which exhibited clear markers of abuse.

Link Database

Link Red Flag listing (risk for clientelism and irregularities)

Indeed, Health constitutes a sector, in which the Red Flag Tenders to the Total Tenders Ratio exceeds 40% of cases (in the case of municipalities, this indicator ranges from 15 to 25%).

However, the phenomenon of deterring officials only in flagrant cases of bribery, does very little to minimize corruption in the public procurement. The analysis, investigation or audit of risky procedures would lead to a better distribution of public money in this sector, which affects and has the potential, to further make the lives of patients in the health system, more vulnerable.

List of tenders of the Ministry of Health for which the Ministry has not yet announced the winner.