Albania Country Profile

Public Procurement and Contracting

Business Corruption

The US Department of State 2008 cites a case of corruption in the procurement process for the reconstruction of the Ministry of Labour's building. Two high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Labour were sentenced to prison together with the owner of a construction company for corruption in the tender process and for forcing the other competitors to withdraw their bids.

Political Corruption

Global Integrity 2008 cites the Minister of Public Health acknowledging that procurement within the health sector is riddled with corruption.

According to the US Department of State 2008, the deputy minister of public works, several private companies and other high-ranking public officials were involved in a scheme for fixing construction procurement bids. The involved persons were found guilty in May 2008 and sentenced to prison or fined.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010:
- Business executives give the diversion of public funds to companies, individuals, or groups due to corruption a score of 3.5 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'very common' and 7 'never occurs' and the mean of the results of the 133 surveyed countries being 3.8).

- Business executives give the favouritism of government officials when deciding upon policies and contracts a score of 2.9 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'always show favouritism' and 7 'never show favouritism' and the mean of the results of the 133 surveyed countries being 3.3).

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- 53.8% of companies expect to give gifts in order to secure a government contract. The figure is the second highest in the Eastern Europe & Central Asia region.

- The average value of a gift expected to secure a government contract is 4.4% of the value of the contract. The figure is the third highest in the Eastern Europe & Central Asia region.