The Board of Directors of Radio Television of Albania and the members of the Committee for Human Rights and Public Media reiterated the poor state the public broadcaster is in. The new leaders promised transformation with the help of the EBU.
Over 380 million lek in debts and penalties in lost trials, a lack of original programs, limited geographical distribution, low viewership, and an outdated and mismanaged institution. This is what was presented by the Board of Directors of Radio Television of Albania on Tuesday in the annual report on the state of the public broadcaster before the Commission for Human Rights and Public Media.
The report, however, indicated that the worsening situation was a result of former leaders and inherited mismanagement. This was also acknowledged by the majority and opposition MPs, who, as is rare, were in full agreement, while pointing out the critical situation in which RTSH finds itself.
Jorida Tabaku, chairwoman of the committee, opened the session by exonerating the current leaders from what happened.
"You will report on a period for which you are not responsible," Tabaku said, but added that it was necessary for the new leaders to take responsibility for the television to emerge from the crisis and make "news for Albanians."
The Chairman of the Steering Council, Fatjon Hoxhalli, presented a gloomy situation during the presentation of the report.
He said that RTSH had failed to realize the projected revenues, both those from the fixed fees paid by citizens and those that the television station realizes itself. He also pointed out the debts that the institution has, including 228 million lek after losing the trials with dismissed employees and over 160 million in other administrative processes. He said that the execution of court decisions put the institution in a difficult situation and the new leaders found themselves facing a fait accompli.
Director General Eni Vasili also acknowledged the dire financial situation. She said that when she took office, the new administration found itself in a liquidity crunch, but added that this problem mainly burdened the programming produced by the television's collaborators. Vasili said that the salary fund was intact and that journalists were paid on time. Vasili insisted that the television had been mismanaged by its predecessors.
Deputies who took the floor after the report shared the same problems, saying they did not blame the current administration for the situation, but demanded to know what measures are being taken to improve it.
The vice-chair of the committee, socialist MP Iris Luarasi, pointed out the lack of productivity of RTSH, emphasizing that some of the open channels had no content, but simply rebroadcast.
"A considerable fund of 12 million lek for (programming) for children and youth has not been used at all," said Luarasi, adding that educational programs were lacking and there was no transparency about festival spending.
Luarasi noted that there was a lack of a medium-term plan to change the situation and demanded that the television change the way the money is used.
"I think that even though time is short, it would be good to urgently draft a medium-term strategic plan accompanied by a deep budget restructuring, focusing funds from salaries towards investments in content and technology," she said.
On the same wave was the opposition MP, Greta Bardeli, who ironically said that TVSH was today a “Media Museum, rich in debt, adorned with privileges for some and almost invisible to the citizens who finance it”. She said that the situation came from mismanagement, abuse of funds and political interference and added that a deep black hole had been created. Bardeli insisted on investigating the mismanagement and demanded the establishment of a parliamentary investigative commission to find the culprits of the situation in which RTSH finds itself.
Hoxhali and Vasili promised reform and insisted that measures had been taken to change the situation.
“Being aware of the urgent need for a deep reform, we have taken concrete steps to design the remodeling of RTSH according to the best European standards of public broadcasters,” said Hoxhalli, noting that the expertise of the EBU was invited to assist in this change.
Hoxhalli stated that the first technical mission of EBU experts will arrive in November, who will help draft a plan for further reforms. “The reform includes several key elements, such as: a new financing model aimed at ensuring the independence and financial sustainability of RTSH,” he said.
Vasili, for her part, said that changes had been made to the programming and that more importance was being given to domestic production, also due to the financial situation. Vasili promised more attention to children and emphasized that they were in negotiations with the Ministry of Education regarding the programming of RTSH Shkollë.
In response to questions from MPs, Vasili said that the television had risked losing relations with the EBU and implied that predecessors had kept official correspondence in personal emails. Vasili said that he had become aware of the obligations to pay the EBU after the invoices arrived at RTSH by mail as urgent.
In response to MPs' questions about the responsibilities of the situation, Vasili said that it was up to the audit to determine them. "Financial and institutional responsibility belongs to RTSH. As for individual responsibility, this can be evidenced at the conclusion of the internal audit or by the KLSH, if it is found. If we encounter criminal responsibility, we have a legal obligation to proceed, but so far this is not the case," Vasili declared./Reporter
