Bello: Albpetrol sale, illegal
28/03/2012 00:00
Linda Rama: Between Family, Work and Albania’s Future 18/08 14:30
The former Deputy Minister of Economy, Pajtim Bello, a good connoisseur
of strategic privatizations in Albania, declared that the Albpetrol
privatization is legally and economically unjustified.
“It is a wrong legal step, because the fields given with concession are considered privatized as assets, but they are not sold, as in this case. In general, it is unjustified and there is no reason to make this privatization, unless there are hidden agendas that the Albanians will be able to see gradually. It is the only case when 100% of the shares are being sold in the strategic sector”, Bello declared.
A few days ago, the Minister of Economy, Nasip Naco, declared that the Albpetrol sale is being made also because the state cannot control the existing concessionary agreements that have been given for the oil resources.
Bello says that after this declaration, the Minister and the government should resign.
“Declaring that you are unable to control your territory, means that the Minister and the government have lost. Control is lost when the Minister is incompetent, or when the political pressure and the interests hidden behind are very strong, but on this case it seems that we have both of them, incompetence and political pressure”, Bello declared.
According to Bello, the sale of Albpetrol without specifying the resources is an unprecedented case related with political hidden agendas or suspicious profits.
“It culminated in Parliament, what was considered a scandal, the fact that an annex of the agreement was delayed. An agreement with an unwritten annex, simply mentioned in the law as Annex C. This is the culmination of the institutional political degeneration for the majority and the Parliament. It is like giving a white check to someone. A white check for the government and the minister or for someone that expects to receive 100% of the Albpetrol shares”, Bello declared.
Last week, the Albanian majority voted in favor of the privatization of 100% of the Albpetrol shares. According to the law, with the purchase of Albpetrol, the private company gains total ownership not only on the physical assets, but also on the special rights that the state receives from the foreign companies, which have an existing concession agreement.
Top Channel
