The Albanian Institute of Science (AIS), an organization that promoted open and transparent data, which is also engaged as a member of the Coalition for Open Governance Partnership (OGP) for Albania, has, for the third time, become part of the consultations with the Government of Albania in drafting an OGP Action Plan. Aiming at contributing to the efforts for open governance as good governance, AIS proposes some commitments that the Government and its Partners should undertake in being part of the Action Plan for OGP fir the two coming years, 2016 – 2018:
Suggestion no. 1: Commitment to Open Contracting Standards. Publication of public contracts using the Open Data format.
Government Implementation Agency(ies): Council of Ministers, Ministry for Relationships with the Parliament, and the Ministry for Economic Development
Non-Government Partner: AIS, etc.
Potential Supporters: World Bank
The Albanian Government needs to commit to applying Open Contracting standards. This is the trend followed by states and transparency actors in their efforts for open information about public contracts and the procedure followed until their finalization. Therefore the Government of Albania may consider abiding by principles of transparency and public access in drafting the new law on Public Procurement. Such law shall have to consider introducing an obligation for publishing every extract of contracts for public works, supplies of goods and services, PPPs or concessions, public rent, sales of public assets, and loan contracts, or public loans contract at the local and central level. The same obligation must also be applicable to the publication of the donation contracts with public institutions, and to online access.
It must also be considered to use the Open Data format in creating the Concessionary Register on the basis of the Law on Concessions and PPPs, and the Decision of the Council of Ministers, ensuring protection of the commercial secret and intellectual property.
Suggestion no. 2: Local Government Unit Budgets by their revenue structures
Ministry for Local Affairs; Ministry of Finances
Potential supporters and partners: UNDP; Swiss Government; USAI; etc.
The Law on Local Government Finances must consider introducing an obligation for local government units to publish the structure of their revenues abiding to the Open Spending standards. This can be achieved in cooperation with the non-governmental sector and with the financial support of programs for local government planning or assistance instruments for anti-corruption (including IPA instruments). A model of the Open Budget of Local Government shall be published in May in the framework of the USAID Program, PLGP.
Suggestion no. 3 Publication of the annual declaration of assets for high officials
National Coordinator against Corruption, Ministry for Local Affairs, Ministry of Justice
Partners from the Non-Governmental Sector: AIS; Association of Journalists for Justice; BIRN Albania, etc.
Support Partners: EU instrument IPA Anti-Corruption; USAID, etc.
Control of Assets and Conflict of Interests is an interesting moment, which is also related with the implementation of the law on decriminalization, and the justice system reform. The public in Albania has the right of access to information on declared incomes and assets. Such access, however, is limited to the will and performance of the monitoring parties and the institution that owns the database (High Inspectorate). Currently, different countries apply the option of (additional) access to, and control of such information. In simple words, the declarations of elected officials and high officials are published online. This would have to start first with the judges and representatives of the justice system, who are twice subject to the control of the conflict of interest. 1. As any other high official (Law on HIDACCI) and 2. Subject to the provisions of the Code of Procedures (review of court cases). Thus, a judge may not adjudicate a party in the court process, if the same party is the employer of a family member of the judge, or the buying/selling party in a contract involving the judge or someone rom his/her family. Having access to the declarations of interest, the other party in the process has more information if its interests are manipulated due to the judge’s conflict of interest.
Finally, our organization welcomes any discussions, public hearings, coordination, and joint engagement aiming at reaching concrete results for open and transparent governance
Open Local Government Procurement Albania at Data for Development Conference
/in Events, Homeposts /by adminAIS Program, Open Procurement Albania (OpenLGP) was presented at a regional conference for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Data for Development Results 2016, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 8 and 9 June. The project and its database designed as part of efforts made for ensuring that citizens are informed about public procurement and public contracts signed by the local government units in Albania. Its results and impact were addressed by a panel on How is Open Contracting Improving Budgetary Efficiency. Organizations from Euro-Asia and representatives from Open Contracting Partnership spoke at this panel about the benefits of contracting process and hitherto experiences. During the last year, AIS opened data about all tenders made in the first year of the 2015-2019 mandates of the 61 municipalities in the country. OpenLGP is financially supported by NED.
Open Contracting Standard, Government of Albania holds Consultations for Commitment
/in Events, Homeposts /by adminAlbania is a country with a significant lack of transparency when it comes to public contracts, be it through donations, concessions, PPPs, public works, or rents. AIS, as a member of the Albanian Coalition for OGP has asked the Government to commit to using Open Contracting Standards. The proposal was integrated in the plan of consultations for OGP 2016-2018. AIS is going to organize consultations with some representative thematic groups for finalizing the Action Plan by the month of June.
TransparencyCamp finally in Europe, something Albania could not miss
/in Events, Homeposts /by adminAn important unconference took place for the first time in Europe on June 1st, the Transparency Camp Europe. The event took place in Amsterdam in the context of the Netherlands EU Presidency 2016. The participants in this TCampEU included representatives from the civil society in Albania, who became part of European experiences on open data, , and civil engagement. One of the TCampEU activities was the APP Competition, which came as a finalization of tens of events of a DiploHack nature in different cities of Europe. Albania was represented in this event by Alida Karakushi and Ergest Nako, members of the Love in Action team, winners of DiploHack Tirana.
Electoral Room for Electoral Reform – a lobbying project, an initiative of the civil society
/in Homeposts, Past Projects, Press Releases, Projects /by adminAIS is now engaged in a new lobbying project in favor of as fair Electoral Code as possible. The name of the project is ‘The Electoral Room for Reform’, and it is an initiative of five organizations, supported by the Open Society Foundation for Albania OSFA.
CSOs from 6 countries at POINT 5.0, Political Accountability and New Technologies
/in Events, Homeposts, Press Releases /by Besi HysaPolitical Accountability and New Technologies POINT is a regional conference of civil society organizations from six countries of Southeast Europe, which are intensively engaged in using new technologies in their work. Four speakers at this conference, Eva Meqemeja, Shefiko Hajna, Erald Hoxha, and Besjana Hysa presented the efforts being made by AIS (an Albanian NGO) to track the money and the interests of high political leaders in power for purposes of establishing some civic monitoring instruments through Open Data.
Money Government & Politics
/in Homeposts, Past Projects /by adminMoney, Government and Politics project and its activities address issues of abuse, corruption, and conflict of interest in the context of governance and politics in Albania. The program opens up and well-structures data about the wealth of high state officials, and expenditures of state institutions, concessionary corporates, and electoral spending.This process enables to track cases of nepotism, embezzlement, and conflict of interest. Access to such data increases transparency, accountability and public pressure in cases of favoritism, and embezzlement of public funds or assets.
CEC considers civil society proposals for the Electoral Reform regarding Election Donors
/in Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminThe Albanian Institute of Science (AIS), a non-governmental organization advocating transparency, good governance, and accountability, is engaged in opening data regarding electoral expenditures and financing. In addition to publishing data from the Financial Tables of Election Subjects in an Open Data format, AIS, through its Electoral Room for Electoral Reform, Money Government and Politics and Za’Lart – Make Elections Count programs, has also identified details and problems related with the electoral financing of the latest campaigns.
On 14 May 2014, AIS presented and proposed some proposals for amendments to the Albanian Electoral Law at a Technical Table on Political Party Financing, a conference organized by the Central Election Commission and supported by the OSCE Presence in Albania. The proposals address electoral campaign financing. Some of the main proposals presented at the conference and submitted in writing by AIS/Open Data Albania included:
In its latest report for the Assembly (April 2016), the Central Election Commission included a document on Recommendations for Potential Improvements of the Electoral Code 2016. The draft is intended for the Assembly and its Electoral Reform Committee, and it includes earlier proposals made by AIS Program Open Data Albania at a round table organized in September 2014 on the Registration and Control of Donors’ Conflicts of Interest. The proposals are integrated in the document section IX. Recommendations for Political Party Financing during Electoral Campaigns and regular calendar years, pages 22 and 23, points 7 and 9 of the Recommendations.
AIS, an organization that promotes Open Data Albania, thanks the Central Election Commission for institutionalizing the proposals coming from the civil society, and for the seriousness with which recommendations on electoral financing were drafted in this document addressed to the Assembly. In addition, AIS will continue to also lobby as a member of the Election Situation Room Initiative for a quality electoral law and reform for regulating the Financing of Electoral Subjects and Auditing of Electoral Campaigns.
Another effort made by AIS for contributing to fair rules of electoral financing is the court process initiated by AIS against the three largest political parties, i.e. Democratic Party, Socialist Party, and the Socialist Movement for Integration for their failure to provide real-time information about he lists and names of their electoral campaign donors, waiting for two months for Tirana Administrative Court of Appeal to set a date for the court hearing.
Using Open Data against Corruption. The Albanian Constitutional Court removes an MP mandate.
/in Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminIt is the first time that a civil society project in Albania provided the public with detailed information about every transaction of the State Treasure, including the transaction date, purpose, number of invoice, and the beneficiary. Through its Open Spending Albania portal, the Treasury Transactions, the Albanian citizens had the opportunity to understand how taxpayers’ money is spent (Where does my Money Go). In August 2014, the public was informed through the open data provided by the Treasury Transactions about several payments made by several state institutions to ABISSNET, a private company owned (on the date of transactions and contracts involving payments) by Koço Kokëdhima, and MP of the ruling majority. The transaction tables appeared on the front page of newspapers like Tema, RD , Ora News, Gazeta Shqiptarja, ABC, etc. They also became part of statuses on Facebook and Twitter of people, who have a significant role in the public debate, and finally caused some reaction by the media and by the opposition parliamentary group of the Democratic Party.
A group of Members Parliamentary addressed the Constitutional Court asking for the removal abrogate of the mandate of MP Koço Kokëdhima referring to Article 70, point 3 and 4 of the Constitution. This article of the Constitution bans MPs from exercising economic and profitable activities using public money. The request of the opposition parliamentary group was also based on Articles 7 and 13 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, and Article 28 of Law No. 9367, dated 7. 04. 2005, On prevention of conflict of interest in exercising public functions. The motion and lawsuit submitted by the MPs to the Constitutional Court were also accompanied by evidence, including tables and databases from our portal Spending Data Albania (page 2 and 3 under the title ‘Facts and Circumstances’).
Following several meetings of the Assembly Committee for Review of Mandates and a long court process initiated by MPs of the Opposition Parliamentary Group, today, on 9 May 2016, the Constitutional Court found the mandate of MP Koço Kokëdhima incompatible (with his activity), and decided to remove abrogate his mandate.
Since 2014, there have been dozens of media articles and declaration based on the open data provided by Treasury Transactions under the Open Spending Albania portal. This is a typical good example of how #OpenData and #OpenKnowledge can be used to control conflict of interest, nepotism, distribution of public money, abuse, corruption, etc.
The Albanian Institute of Science (AIS), a non-governmental Albanian organization continues to open data about the Treasury Transactions, Public Contracts and Tenders, Public Budget, Assets of High-Level Officials and Judges, Electoral Spending, etc., with the objective being increased transparency and civic monitoring through the opening of public data. Our projects, Money, Governance and Politics MGP, and Open Procurement, continue to build instruments for empowering citizens through information, transparency and civic monitoring by opening publican governmental data.
Watch Dog Process avoids abusive and clientelist tenders
/in Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminThe Albanian Institute of Science (AIS), an organization that promotes open data in Albania, has the pleasure of sharing with you a positive experience of the role of the civil society and media in the watch dog process of civic monitoring and control over how public property is used in the country.
On 19 April, Open Procurement Albania portal provided comprehensive information to the public and journalists about a procurement process of the Municipality of Tropoja, whereby the Municipality Rented a Tourist Space, known as:
Tourism Development Centre of Valbona
Renting, through competition, of the Tourism Development Centre of Valbona, an area of 4180 m² (as in the layout), including a building covering an area of 461 m2 and a functional space (outside the building) of 3719 m2. The building is rented so that it can be used to support economic activities that encourage investments, employment, and tourism. The minimum rent from which competition starts is 60,240 (sixty thousand and two hundred and forty) lekë/month. The term of rent shall be 5 (five) years.
The time available for potential competitors was very short. The tender was announced on 18 April, and the deadline for applications was 20 April, which significantly leads to suspicions of an intentional clientelist procurement process. In addition, the minimum rent for such a building and area in one of the most visited tourist sites seems to be very abusive. Information about this procurement process spread quickly through social media, comments were made by hundreds of citizens, and it became target of various media articles, mainly by online media. Some journalists made further investigations, finding out that, in addition to the natural resources the Centre represents; it (the building) had just been completed with the investments made by the Albanian Development Fund. Following such civic pressure on social networks and media, the Municipality of Tropoja decided to cancel the procurement process because of the short time available for application. The cancelation was published on the latest bulletin of the Public Procurement Agency (25 April).
AIS, through its monitoring process and publication of information in an Open format (easy to be found and searched), draws your attention to the extreme lack of transparency over procurement processes of our local government units in renting public buildings. These procurement processes are not announced electronically. They are only made in the PDF version of the Bulletin, leave always very little time for applications, and are not accompanied by a final announcement about the total number of participants, values of winning contracts, and the name of the winning economic operators.
At the moment, Open Procurement Albania portal provides data about eight procurement processes for renting territories and properties owned by Municipalities, which have taken place from July 2015. There, you may also find information about 1547 public procurement procedures of the 61 local government units emerging after the recent territorial-administrative division.
This portal is part of the activities of OpenLGU Program. We welcome suggestions and invitations for cooperation!
AIS proposals for the draft Albania’s OGP Action Plan 2016 – 2018
/in Homeposts, Press Releases /by adminThe Albanian Institute of Science (AIS), an organization that promoted open and transparent data, which is also engaged as a member of the Coalition for Open Governance Partnership (OGP) for Albania, has, for the third time, become part of the consultations with the Government of Albania in drafting an OGP Action Plan. Aiming at contributing to the efforts for open governance as good governance, AIS proposes some commitments that the Government and its Partners should undertake in being part of the Action Plan for OGP fir the two coming years, 2016 – 2018:
Suggestion no. 1: Commitment to Open Contracting Standards. Publication of public contracts using the Open Data format.
Government Implementation Agency(ies): Council of Ministers, Ministry for Relationships with the Parliament, and the Ministry for Economic Development
Non-Government Partner: AIS, etc.
Potential Supporters: World Bank
The Albanian Government needs to commit to applying Open Contracting standards. This is the trend followed by states and transparency actors in their efforts for open information about public contracts and the procedure followed until their finalization. Therefore the Government of Albania may consider abiding by principles of transparency and public access in drafting the new law on Public Procurement. Such law shall have to consider introducing an obligation for publishing every extract of contracts for public works, supplies of goods and services, PPPs or concessions, public rent, sales of public assets, and loan contracts, or public loans contract at the local and central level. The same obligation must also be applicable to the publication of the donation contracts with public institutions, and to online access.
It must also be considered to use the Open Data format in creating the Concessionary Register on the basis of the Law on Concessions and PPPs, and the Decision of the Council of Ministers, ensuring protection of the commercial secret and intellectual property.
Suggestion no. 2: Local Government Unit Budgets by their revenue structures
Ministry for Local Affairs; Ministry of Finances
Potential supporters and partners: UNDP; Swiss Government; USAI; etc.
The Law on Local Government Finances must consider introducing an obligation for local government units to publish the structure of their revenues abiding to the Open Spending standards. This can be achieved in cooperation with the non-governmental sector and with the financial support of programs for local government planning or assistance instruments for anti-corruption (including IPA instruments). A model of the Open Budget of Local Government shall be published in May in the framework of the USAID Program, PLGP.
Suggestion no. 3 Publication of the annual declaration of assets for high officials
National Coordinator against Corruption, Ministry for Local Affairs, Ministry of Justice
Partners from the Non-Governmental Sector: AIS; Association of Journalists for Justice; BIRN Albania, etc.
Support Partners: EU instrument IPA Anti-Corruption; USAID, etc.
Control of Assets and Conflict of Interests is an interesting moment, which is also related with the implementation of the law on decriminalization, and the justice system reform. The public in Albania has the right of access to information on declared incomes and assets. Such access, however, is limited to the will and performance of the monitoring parties and the institution that owns the database (High Inspectorate). Currently, different countries apply the option of (additional) access to, and control of such information. In simple words, the declarations of elected officials and high officials are published online. This would have to start first with the judges and representatives of the justice system, who are twice subject to the control of the conflict of interest. 1. As any other high official (Law on HIDACCI) and 2. Subject to the provisions of the Code of Procedures (review of court cases). Thus, a judge may not adjudicate a party in the court process, if the same party is the employer of a family member of the judge, or the buying/selling party in a contract involving the judge or someone rom his/her family. Having access to the declarations of interest, the other party in the process has more information if its interests are manipulated due to the judge’s conflict of interest.
Finally, our organization welcomes any discussions, public hearings, coordination, and joint engagement aiming at reaching concrete results for open and transparent governance