The US Department of State considers the law on Strategic Investments clientelistic. According to reports of DASH for the Investment Climate, this law was used to favor businesses with strong ties to the majority, while emphasizing the lack of competition and foreign companies.
"The insignificant part of foreign investors who have benefited from the status of strategic investors has fueled the perception among foreign investors that domestic companies with strong ties to the ruling majority have mainly benefited from the law" - says the report.
The report analyzes the economic development of Albania and underlines that among the main problems remains corruption, unfair competition that is hindered by PPP concessions, as well as the lack of labor force.
Focusing on the law on Strategic Investments, the report points out that it was drafted by the Socialist Party in 2015 with the main goal of absorbing foreign and serious investors, but it turned out to absorb only companies close to the government, "even though the deadline was postponed several times ", the report mentions.
"Very few foreign investors have benefited from the "Strategic Investor" status and almost all projects have been awarded to local companies operating in the tourism sector", says the report.
It is further quoted that the foreign investors have expressed that the answers from AIDA have been delayed.
The law expired in December 2023 and the parliament extended its mandate until December 2024, a decision that was met with criticism.
"Most of the approximately 60 approved projects focus on the tourism sector and are dominated by local investors", the report confirms.
Citizens has EXPLORING on the area that the companies on the coast have benefited from and how this law has favored the companies close to the government. It turned out that the Albanian government has given 5.8 million square meters of land to strategic investors throughout the country.
17 projects have been granted on the coast, through this law, and also Citizens analyzed how these projects are negatively affecting the environment. The winning companies put names that at first glance suggest an environmentally friendly project, such as "Green Coast", but in reality, according to experts, the constructions turn out to be not friendly at all, on the contrary, they are eroding the environment and concreting it.
The opposition has demanded the investigation of strategic investors, but this has not been done so far. Corruption is the headline of the DASH report as well.
"Corruption continues to undermine the rule of law, endangering economic development" says the report.
The lack of manpower is highlighted as a problem that hinders the economic development of the country, where the migration of doctors and IT experts is mentioned.
"The US Chamber of Commerce notes that finding qualified staff remains a top concern, while there is growing concern about labor shortages", says the report.
DASH underlines that in recent years, a significant number of doctors and nurses have immigrated to the European Union, especially to Germany.
"There has also been significant emigration to the United Kingdom. According to the World Bank, Albania has the lowest number of doctors per capita in the region with only 1.9 doctors per 1000 inhabitants in 2020., reports the report.
He completed master's studies in Investigative Journalism at the Department of Journalism at the University of Tirana. She has been working as a journalist for five years, where she previously covered issues of politics and parliamentary activity, in print and online media. She is currently a journalist at Citizens.al, where she covers various social issues related to the transparency of institutions. At Citizens.al, she leads the podcast "The Unheard" and is engaged as a manager of projects related to the support of investigative journalism.
