Holta Zaçaj is living proof that the concept of a restricted profession no longer exists in Albania. It is enough to be in the right political orbit and you can naturally move from interpreting the Constitution to monetary policy, from legal decisions to bank transfers and the financial education of citizens.
Only a short time as the first deputy governor of the Bank of Albania, the former president of the Constitutional Court already speaks enthusiastically about the "cashless economy", online platforms, financial education and the historic success of SEPA, as if she had spent her life between interest rates and monetary policy, and not between interpretations of the Constitution.
According to her, Albanians have saved 70 million euros from bank transfers. News that in any normal country would be positive. The problem is that in Albania the real economy is barely breathing, while towers are being erected at a pace that neither salaries, nor production, nor the purchasing power of citizens justify.
In a country where apartments are sold with suitcases of cash, where the real estate market has been considered for years one of the most suspicious money laundering mechanisms, and where no one can clearly explain the origin of the billions circulating in concrete, the Bank of Albania celebrates the fact that transfers are being made online.
It's a bit like telling a citizen who barely pays for his electricity: "Don't worry, now at least it's cheaper to transfer money you don't have."
But the institutional enthusiasm doesn't stop there. Zaçaj proudly explains that Albanians are using cards and online platforms more. A great success of digitalization in a country where there are still pensioners who wait for hours in line to receive their cash pension and where many small businesses continue to see you as the enemy if you ask for a receipt.
In fact, the model is perfect: politics produces universal people. Today, the president of the Constitutional Court, tomorrow, a monetary expert, the day after tomorrow, perhaps even a specialist in artificial intelligence or space exploration. In Albania, it doesn't matter what you studied or what experience you have. It's enough to always be on the right side of power. The rest is learned along the way.
