Digitization, performance evaluation of central and local administration, wage increase and the relationship with corruption

Albania is presented today with an overview of the comprehensive strategic framework of the Public Administration Reform, which has been implemented since 2015. This is based on five strategic documents: 1. Intersectoral Strategy of Public Administration Reform (RAP), 2. Management Strategy of Public Finances, 3. Decentralization Strategy, 4. Anti-Corruption Strategy and 5. Digital Albania Strategy.
Although the reform of the administration requires a long time to fully develop, the government must ensure coherence between the various documents, as well as with other planning documents with the aim of ensuring alignment with the latest version of the European interoperability framework. According to the 2023 EC Progress Report for Albania, the assessment is that there is an average preparation for its strategic framework for public administration reform. Institutional coordination is still at the stage that needs to be further improved as the central quality control function for policy planning needs to be strengthened.
Digitization can be seen in the context of citizens’ access to technology, the level of developing skills to use technology and its actual use will increase during any digital government initiative, as it is vital to serve as a transparency and anti-corruption tool. . But at the same time, this mechanism does not mean success as the administration and the country still face many different social challenges, which are reflections of actions and interactions between different groups within the Albanian society.
The achievement of reforming the public administration and social life in the country cannot change even after the decision to increase the salaries of the public administration, without first implementing all the tasks that are described in the relations for measuring performance based on meritocracy and distancing from political patronage of administration.