Two dozen reporters and civil society activists discussed corruption, impunity and abuse of office in local government in Albania.
The roundtable was moderated by Rigels Xhemollari, executive director of Qendresa Qytetare, a civil society watchdog group of active young professionals.
The roundtable, which was supported by the Swedish International Development Agency, SIDA, aims to strengthen ties between investigative journalists and civil society and inform an upcoming call for investigative grants for mid-career reporters.
The call will fund reporting grants for journalists that investigate corruption and abuse of office in local government, with a particular focus on the topics highlighted during the roundtable.
Topics discussed during the roundtable included:
- The lack of implementation of integrity and anti-corruption plans, particularly on the elements of ethics and conflict of interests in municipalities and municipal councils.
- Nepotism and clientelism in the human resources of municipalities
- Transparency of budgets, public procurement procedures and public contracts awarded by municipalities
- The appointment of people with a criminal background to public inspectorates and their role during elections
- Corruption with waste management contracts
- Lack of budgets to address children in street situations
- The lack of representation of rural areas at municipal level
- Lack of sewage and sewage treatment plants
- Problems of urban development, building criteria, parking, garbage bins, etc
- Corruption cases in the treatment of solid waste
The roundtable will inform BIRN Albania’s upcoming call for investigative reports on local government.