In the Municipality of Tropoja, where every lek of taxpayers should be translated into infrastructure and investment for residents, public money seems to be following a much more private path, one that leads directly to the family members of the municipality leader. Through a repeated scheme of disqualifying the most economical offers and favoring relatives, the Municipality of Tropoja, under the leadership of Rexhë Byberi, raises serious questions about the implementation of the law on conflict of interest and competition in the procurements it makes.
The latest tender has as its object the construction of retaining walls and drainage for the protection of lands and houses in the villages of Gri and Dojan, with a fund of more than 68 million old lek. Although four companies participated in the competition, the institution led by Byberi disqualified two of them. Among the eliminated was the company “ASI INVEST”, which had presented the best economic offer, a full 9 million lek cheaper than the winner.
With the disqualification of the most favorable bid for the state budget, the contract was awarded to the company "Vllaznimi sh.pk", owned by Bashkim Byberi, or the mayor's own uncle's son.
This story is not a coincidence or an isolated episode of procedures. Just a month ago, on June 5, VNA denounced another almost identical case, where the Municipality of Tropoja opened the procedure for the reconstruction and asphalting of several road axes with a limit fund of 52 million lek. Three companies participated in the competition, two of which turned out to be connected to the mayor's family circle, "Vllaznimi sh.pk" of his cousin and "Trajler sh.pk", owned by Anila Byberi.
According to the June tender documents, “Trajler sh.pk” had not submitted any economic bid at all, raising strong suspicions that its presence served simply as a facade to create the impression of a formal competition. However, the scheme was disrupted by the entry into the competition of the company “Florida sh.pk”, which offered to perform the work for about 5 thousand euros less than the company owned by the mayor’s relative. The conclusion was the same, the company with the lowest bid was disqualified from the competition, while the tender was again entrusted to the entity owned by Byber’s uncle’s son.
The violation of equality in competitions becomes even more worrying when you look at which officials make decisions on these public funds. Documents show that these contracts continue to be signed by the deputy mayor, Zyra Islamaj (Koka), who has been sentenced by the GJKKO to 2 years and 1 month in prison for passive corruption. She was punished by the justice system after using her public office while in command at the head of the municipality to build a bridge without a project near her sister's apartment.
The irony of this situation deepens even further when one remembers that Mayor Rexhë Byberi himself was previously indicted by SPAK on charges of abuse of office, suspected of causing the state a damage of 277 million lek through violations in the construction of two rural roads. His case is now before the GJKKO, while security measures have previously been applied against him by the court.
When the most economical offers are swept off the table and taxpayers' money is systematically poured into family companies, the question is no longer just procedural. Is the Municipality of Tropoja functioning as an institution of the Albanian state at the service of citizens, or is it turning into a local feudalism where the law on conflict of interest no longer has any power?
Despite the continuous denunciations published by VNA, so far there has been no reaction or new investigation into the recent tenders, leaving the final answer in the hands of SPAK and the government, which seems to have no intention of monitoring Mayor Byberi.
