Public Goals Administration and Strength Local Leadership in Albania

Albania has taken steps towards bringing its legislation into line with the EU standards by approve a new public procurement law. The new law takes into account the principles of nondiscrimination and equal treatment, transparency, and legal protection of interests of bidders on public contracts. Direct tendering has been abolished except in cases of extreme urgency and for the purchase of electricity, and criteria to identify abnormally low bids have been introduced. The new e-procurement regulations approved by the GOA in October 2007 paved the way to the e-procurement system implementation at the central and local government level. Contracting authorities are required to publish procurement notices and tender dossiers on the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) website, which can be accessed electronically by the public. However, its application is hampered by technical problems and the insufficient IT capacity of many contracting authorities. The Public Procurement Advocate was established as an independent institution reporting to parliament. However, it has no particular executive powers and its functions duplicate the monitoring tasks of the PPA. Decisions on appeals are taken by the same unit of the PPA that is responsible for interpreting the law and giving advice to contracting authorities. Current procedures for handling complaints still do not meet recognized international standards. Overall, the improvements in the public procurement legislation are advancing while the proper enforcement of the law is still a work in progress. Sanitation presents even more problems than drinking water. Sanitation coverage in urban areas is almost the same as drinking water coverage. Urban areas have combined sewage and storm water collection networks that discharge into near bay surface water bodies. About 40% of the urban population has a sewer connection. In rural areas, only a small portion of the areas with piped water supply is equipped with sever networks. Most rural areas have individual household water collection systems, principally simple pitlatrines with no drainage pipes. Upgrading of sewer networks has not kept pace with the general development of infrastructure, and the materials and technology used have not been improved. Presently, there is no treatment of wastewater in Albania; its discharge in water bodies, especially in coastal tourist areas and delicate ecosystems, is a major environmental programs for the government, the business, community and the public goals.