OSCE Presence, Italian Anti-Corruption Authority start work to enhance capacities of Albania’s Supreme State Audit Institution
TIRANA, 16 July 2021 – The OSCE Presence in Albania will partner with the Italian National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) to strengthen professional capacities of the Albanian Supreme State Audit Institution (ALSAI) in conducting public procurement audits andenhancing their quality. A first meeting to define the needs of the Institution and develop atraining programme took place online today on 16 July 2021.
Head of the Presence, Vincenzo Del Monaco, who attended the event together with the ANAC President, Giuseppe Busia, and ALSAI Chair, Arben Shehu, said that, as an independentoversight institution, ALSAI plays a crucial role in the fight against corruption.
“As we have seen in the Albanian news these days, the risk of corruption in public procurementis high, and efforts to increase oversight of this area and follow up on recommendations toreduce risks have never been more important. These risks are being taken very seriously by theAlbanian authorities and Albania is beginning to see results emerging from its new judicialinstitutions, but more work can be done, and other institutions like ALSAI for instance arecritical links in the system to identify and report maleficence”, said Del Monaco.
ANAC President Busia expressed the Authority’s commitment to offering best practices andmodels for conducting auditing of public procurement procedures, based on the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority’s experience. “Transparency and digitalization will be the ways to preventcorruption and assure a better public administration. I am very happy of this collaboration withALSAI and I hope to develop more activities between ALSAI and ANAC”, said Busia. ALSAI Chair Shehu thanked the OSCE Presence and ANAC for the support and said he waslooking forward to the start of concrete activities for the benefit of the joint interest, fight against corruption.
The Presence’s support to the Albanian Supreme State Audit Institution is part of its widerefforts to strengthen capacities, transparency and accountability of the public procurementsystem in Albania, and ALSAI is a key link in this system.