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By Plator Nesturi
The investigation of the Prosecution of Kavaja for the alienation of 36 hectares of land in the area of Spille has led to a big scandal of abuse revealing how officials and investors who have ties with the people in power, appropriate lands. The issuing of ownership documents for locals in the coastline and the fact that these local residents sell them at a very small price, shows a series of thefts in areas with the biggest potential for tourism. The scheme which is used is very simple and unscrupulous. Residents are notified they have been given land through law no. 7501, in the form support by their municipality or commune. These certificates continue to be distributed in the present, while law no. 7501 was applied at the beginning of the ‘90s. Without knowing where their land is, these locals are taken to the notary’s office where the sale of land is done to third parties, which ironically, happen to be local officials or construction investors. While their ownership certificate states that they have been given 3000 square meters, it now comes out that the actual area is 15 thousand square meters. And the lands for which the sale has been made, happens to be on the coast. And it’s not agricultural land, as law no. 7501 stipulates.
Investigations show that a part of the residents who have been given agricultural land and have sold it to other people, were not aware of this fact. This is even more outrageous, because this is not merely a case of fraud. What makes this even more outrageous is the fact that the legitimate owners of these lands are not aware of the fact that lands have been sold on their behalf.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to think that the case of Spille and the abuses made by officials in Kavaja are a sporadic case. The entire coastline is known to be subject of abuse with lands and appropriation by local officials or construction companies. There have been many cases where ownership documents have been seized and many of the officials working for property registration offices have either been discharged or prosecuted for abuse or incompetence. This phenomenon has become so widespread that the post of the head of the property registration office in Vlora has been considered like a curse, because the heads of this institution have not remained in office for more than a few months. Forced by higher places to sign property certificates or lured in by bribes, they have not been able to resist these temptations. But, the court is yet to convict any of them.
Has the scheme that was used in Spille been used in other coastal areas too? If there’s a serious investigation in place, many dirty things will come to surface. We just need to see the number of new property certificates issued according to law no. 7501 in coastal areas. How many others have been issued in the form of agricultural land in the coast, where in fact there hasn’t been any agricultural land?
The media has long been using the term the Land Mob. Perhaps, they don’t deal with cannabis, but the damage that they cause to the economy and land owners is greater. Is the state not supposed to investigate this criminal activity? This phenomenon not only alienates the lands of local residents, but it also corrupts state officials. To assess the damage which has been done, we just need to see how things are done in many coastal areas from Velopoja to Shengjin, Durres, coastline of Lushnja and Fier, Vlora, Himara and Saranda. We can see how hundreds of property certificates in the form of agricultural land have been issued in the coastline to people who have had no connection whatsoever with these lands. And it’s not a surprise that hotels and tourist resorts are being built on these territories. This sort of greed must be stopped at once, because this not only shows that we don’t have a functional state, but it also shows that we will increase social discontent.
In many cases, these properties have been given in an abusive way as agricultural lands through law no. 7501, without being agricultural lands. What’s more, the owners of these lands were in the process of registering these properties. In this case, we are dealing with double theft: theft against the true owner and theft against the poor man who becomes the owner of a land in the coast and who sells it for a very cheap price. Spille revealed that we’re dealing with an organized theft. Authorities must investigate this phenomenon to make sure that tourist resorts and strategic investments in the coastline are not based on abuse, theft and corruption.
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