Official photo of PM Rama's cabinet after swearing-in at Presidency in 2017.

Govt Salaries Made Public through Data Leak

The database that is circulating in recent days through the application "WhatsApp", has also revealed the salaries received by members of the cabinet of the Rama government of the second term. 

Taking into account the job positions for the specific names, it is concluded that the document has been prepared and has come out before the April 25 elections. Prime Minister Edi Rama, according to the database that is circulating through the application "WhatsApp", but the initial source is not known, receives a gross salary of ALL 228,730.00. This is the gross salary that is provided in the payroll of the Prime Minister. According to the hierarchy, the second one who should have the highest salary in the governing cabinet should be the then Deputy Prime Minister Erion Brace, but before him, is the Minister of Infrastructure, Belinda Balluku. 

Minister Balluku in fact makes a difference even from her colleagues. She has a higher salary and according to the Balluku database, she is paid ALL 194,600. After Balluku, comes former Deputy Prime Minister Erion Brace. Referring to the same document, Brace had a salary of ALL 187,610 as Deputy Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the other ministers, according to the database, had a salary that does not exceed ALL 174,760. It is noticeable that, unlike Balluku, the other ministers had the same salary with the above value. 

But according to the document, which is circulating at the same salary level with the ministers is also the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj. According to the document in question, it turns out that he receives ALL 174,760. Also, at the same level of salary is the director of the High Inspectorate of Declaration of Assets at the time it was prepared, Shkëlqim Ganaj. The Director of the Inspectorate that controls the property declarations of ministers and MPs has the same salary as ministers, ie ALL 174,760. Meanwhile, the chief negotiator of Albania with the European Union, Zef Mazi, is paid the same salary as the ministers. In fact, Zef Mazi in the description of the profession is specified as a ministerial advisor. 

The former General Director of Police, Ardi Veliu, according to the electronic database, turns out to have had a salary only ALL 2000 lower than his chief, Minister of Interior, Bledi Çuçi. It turns out that he had a salary of ALL 172,500. Meanwhile, the former director of Prisons, Agim Ismaili, turns out that in his duty as General Director of Prisons he was paid every month with ALL 149,100 with a significantly lower difference of ALL 30.000 with the former police chief.