In the Municipality of Tropoja, public money seems to have found a permanent address. It no longer matters whether it comes from citizens' taxes or from civil emergency funds, intended for the protection of people's lives and homes. Under the administration of Mayor Rexhë Byberi, every penny that passes through the municipality seems to follow the same path, ending up with the company of his uncle's son, Bashkim Byberi.
At the end of August, the Municipality of Tropoja closed the tender procedure for the stabilization of the terrain and the protection of houses from the risk of collapse and landslides in the villages of Gri and Dojan. The project aims to protect three families from the immediate risk of collapse of the massifs of land and is financed by the National Agency for Civil Protection with a fund of 68 million old lek, about 74 thousand euros.
But even an emergency fund, given to avoid a concrete risk to citizens, has not escaped the well-known family selection scheme. For the leaders of the Municipality of Tropoja, the priority does not seem to have been saving public money or fair competition, but declaring the preferred company the winner.
Four companies participated in the procurement procedure. As in previous cases, the scenario was repeated almost unchanged: Rexhë Byberi disqualified the two most economical bids, paving the way for the announcement of the winner of the company “Vllaznimi” sh.pk, owned by his cousin.
The entity “ASI INVEST” had offered to carry out the work for 9 million old lek less than the winner, while the company “DRINI-1” had submitted a bid about 2 million lek lower. But in the “manor” of Byber, the logic of saving public funds seems to have no weight. Neither the best offer, nor the legal criteria, nor the principle of competition are valid when the family company enters the procedure.
This series of tenders can no longer be read as a coincidence. Just a day ago, VNA denounced another flagrant case, where Byberi not only disqualified six cheaper bids, but openly refused to implement three consecutive decisions of the Public Procurement Commission and a final decision of the Administrative Appeals Court, only for the road tender to go to the same cousin.
Ajo që e bën këtë histori edhe më të rëndë është heshtja e institucioneve. Shkelja e hapur e ligjit për konfliktin e interesit dhe cenimi i garave publike po kthehen në normalitet në Tropojë, ndërsa SPAK dhe Prokuroria duket se kanë zgjedhur të qëndrojnë spektatorë. Të njëjtën heshtje po mban edhe qeveria qendrore, e cila nuk ka treguar asnjë interes për të monitoruar apo ndalur kthimin e Bashkisë së Tropojës në një pronë private të Rexhë Byberit.
Përballë kësaj amullie institucionale, VNA do të vijojë të bëjë detyrën e saj: të denoncojë me emër, me dokumente dhe me shifra çdo abuzim me paratë publike, deri ditën kur drejtësia dhe qeveria të vendosin të zgjohen.
