June 24 (SeeNews) - The confederation of Albanian industries, Konfindustria, said it is concerned over the delay in parliament approval of draft legislation banning unsolicited proposals for public private partnerships (PPPs) in road infrastructure projects.
The draft law was expected to be endorsed by the parliament in June, in order to take effect from July 1, Konfindustria said in a statement on Sunday.
The parliament has not included the draft law on the agenda of the last sessions before the summer recess, making it impossible for the ban to take effect from July 1.
This is the second time the government has failed to keep its pledge to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to scrap unsolicited proposals. The original deadline expired in September 2018.
The parliament has not included the draft law on the agenda of the last sessions before the summer recess, making it impossible for the ban to take effect from July 1.
Konfindustria has demanded that the draft law encompassed all sectors of the economy and not just road infrastructure projects.
Failure to meet deadlines for the adoption of the law is a clear sign of strong lobbying against public interest in Albanian political decision-making, Konfindustria noted, adding that this casts long-term doubts on the earnest intention of Albanian to deliver on pledges to international institutions and financial markets.
Konfindustria also said that Albania is institutionally unprepared for managing PPPs and concession contracts in general and unsolicited contracts in particular. State institutions are weak, creating conditions for increased corruption, which threatens the long-term financial sustainability of the state budget, free competition and economic development, the industrial confederation said.
The state’s obligations for payment on PPPs have exceeded 100 million euro ($113.7 million) per year, according to the statement.
In January, the government approved the final amendments to the draft law on PPPs including the scrapping of unsolicited proposals for PPPs and bonuses for bidding companies. The draft law was then sent to parliament for approval.
In March 2018, the IMF said the current practice of unsolicited proposals in PPP agreements should be eliminated.
“With regard to PPPs, a key priority is to reduce the fragmented decision-making and strengthen risk assessment processes at the Ministry of Finance. These processes are critical given the large contingent liabilities frequently embedded in PPP contracts over a long-term horizon,” the IMF said at the time.
($ = 0.87942 euro)