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For the first time, the budget is spending more on the salaries of the "chancellor" than on public investments

Politiko 2026-06-02 08:43:48

For the first time, the budget is spending more on the salaries of the

Albania has great needs for new investments, especially in transport infrastructure, but in recent years there has been a tendency for operating and maintenance costs to be higher than investment costs in the first 4 months of the year.

The latest official data from the Ministry of Finance on budget performance for the 4-month period of 2026 show an unusual reversal of the ratios between the two main items of public expenditure.

Operating and maintenance expenses reached 17.7 billion lek during the first 4 months of this year. On the other hand, capital expenditures, which represent public investments in roads, schools, hospitals and strategic infrastructure, are 14.8 billion lek or 16.5 percent lower than operating and maintenance expenses.

This performance deepens the trend started in 2025, proving that taxpayers' money is going more to keep the state apparatus and existing structures running rather than developing new projects that generate long-term economic growth.

In developing countries like Albania with great needs for physical infrastructure, this ratio is not considered normal. Capital expenditures are the main engine of development, as every lek invested in infrastructure has a multiplier effect on the economy, creating jobs and increasing productivity. As maintenance and operational expenses dominate over capital, it is showing that new investments have been neglected.

Capital investments have a clearer monitoring, due to the nature of the work, operational and maintenance costs have a higher degree of abuse, said an expert at the Albanian Road Authority. The country's road infrastructure, including the recently built axes (Arbri road) are in a deplorable state.

The bridge on Kombit Road is closed on one side as it poses a risk due to faulty construction, while large cracks have started in the retaining wall of the road in the Kukës-Morinë segment. The axes for which the government finances maintenance from the budget do not have any workers on the road. The most obvious example is the highway from the Rinas overpass to Durrës, which is completely ruined.

The budget item "Operating and Maintenance Expenditures" does not only include roads, but all the costs of operating the state machinery. This item includes electricity and water bills for institutions, fuel for administration vehicles, purchases of office paper and equipment, rents for government buildings, as well as consulting or IT services.

In recent years, with the digitalization of services, the costs of maintaining software systems and government servers, including their large maintenance contracts, have taken an increasingly large share and are now under investigation by SPAK.

Also, a significant portion of the money that appears as maintenance or current expenses goes to pay the annual invoices of Concession and PPP contracts. Regular payments made to the private sector every year, especially for health contracts, are often classified as transfers or current operating expenses.

Instead of having a national and long-term strategy for the maintenance of road axes, money is often divided into dozens of small and fragmented tenders for emergency interventions, greenery or signaling. This form of fragmentation increases administrative costs and reduces control over quality. Such is the case of the Tirana-Durrës Highway, which in the span of ten years is spending millions of euros for the third time on greenery, where initially palm trees were planted, then pine trees and now after the expansion there will be a new configuration for greenery. / Monitor