Speaking at a regional conference titled “From Property to Progress”, attended by representatives from Western Balkan countries, Rama said the overhaul would consolidate responsibilities currently spread across separate agencies.

“Bringing more functions under one roof is necessary because separate agencies have not helped the process and have instead created confusion and additional problems,” Rama said.

He said the government now has a clearer vision for reorganising the administration of immovable property through the merger of several agencies into a unified system.

Rama also highlighted the role of the European Union in supporting Albania’s property reform process, describing Brussels as both a demanding supervisor and an important partner.

“With the support of the European Union, we are building something that works and is working quite well,” he said, adding that the government hoped to complete the process “very soon”.

The government head also praised international partners and Albanian officials involved in the reform effort for their technical support and contribution to modernising the cadastre system.

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The State Cadastre service windows will close down starting as of Monday, July 3, ultimately putting an end to a 30-year regime of paperwork and stamps as every procedure and transaction will take place online only and the Cadastre documents will be sealed electronically, archiving once and for all “the practice of paying in exchange of a service delivery or delivering a service in exchange of a payment” as part of the painful history of the past.

Latest reform effort designed to overhaul the State Cadastre Agency and its services was revealed at an extended meeting with the Agency workers and officials, also attended by Prime Minister Edi Rama, as well as cabinet members, lawmakers and mayors.

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The reason I wished that an open extended meeting be held with the participation of cabinet members, lawmakers and mayors is to acknowledge some important truths that are the truth of many people indeed, who have encountered absurd and even painful processes and situations.

And the very first truth is that despite having relatively enough long time available, we have actually failed to transform the Cadastre to what it really is. The Cadastre is a bank.

The Cadastre is just like the Central Bank of the Republic of Albania.

It is like a second tier commercial bank where the citizens’ deposits are kept and where their interactions and transactions and, just like any bank, the Cadastre is not a niche to do favours to all sorts of people who have nothing to do with that work.

The bitter truth is that the Cadastre has been constantly obstructed, primarily by you – and by you, I do not mean any of you personally – but the category you represent, namely parliament members, cabinet members and mayors, and everyone else enjoying though little power, who have granted themselves the permission to interfere with the State Cadastre as if it was a “refugium peccatorum” (refuge of sinners) for all the needs, ranging from the influence on appointment and employment at the Cadastre and the influence to support each other, preventing the Cadastre from becoming what it should be, the safe real estate bank of Albanians.

This is the truth, the bitterest truth of this whole story. The other truth of this story is that its literally terrible past, with maps being worn out by folding and unfolding them constantly, with property titles changeable according to interests and overlapping properties because of total irresponsibility, which is the number one feature of individuals who take over a mission, not to accomplish it indeed, or of individuals who, when they wish to really do their job, they are indeed ignorant and incompetent to do it, has caused that we undoubtedly inherit a catastrophic situation, the most catastrophic in Europe. No doubt a lot of effort has gone into it. No one can deny it, but no one can also deny that we can’t openly state what we already have delivered. On the contrary, we have witnessed weird things happening with the properties of the Albanian citizens. And definitely money and bribery practices are the main protagonist behind all this grim history of corruption and this is because lawmakers, mayors and other high-level officials have continuously exercised their political influence over the Cadastre.

And I would like to fully and humbly admit that time is high today to ask for an apology on behalf of the Socialist Party to all of the citizens who have been through the chain of tortures at the Cadastre. And this is an apology being made by the leader of a culpable political party and of course it is not the whole party to be blamed, but it is primarily its leadership that has set a heinous example for everyone else to do so.

The Cadastre Director hinted at threats. It is true that the State Cadastre is the only institution in the Republic of Albania to cooperate with the threats. Threats are being issued from all four sides. And today’s apology is something I have been looking for the day to make it, yet I haven’t done so because I clearly knew that the tomorrow would be precisely the same and since I have been mulling this apology anytime I have been thinking about the Cadastre Agency, I was looking forward the day when I would tell Albanians what I am about to say now.

On Monday, July 3, the State Cadastre will no longer be accessible for the public or anyone else. Starting as of July 3, nobody, including you, will be able to do anything in the Cadastre Agency. And I would invite each and every one of you to attempt to do so and you will find out for yourselves that you can do nothing. Why? Because nobody inside the State Cadastre Agency would be able to answer you, even if they would wish to do so. None of your relatives, friends or Socialist Party activists that you have managed to employ in the Cadastre Agency would be able to do so. As of Monday, July 3, the Cadastre Agency will turn into a digital machine and its employees – a part of who have already filed resignations – will be able to do nothing else but their job in front of a computer only. They won’t be able to intentionally deviate in any direction. As of Monday, July 3, nobody would be able to serve who they wish to serve. They can’t pick anyone. As of Monday, July 3, a State Cadastre employee in Shkoder will be able to provide what the algorithm produces regarding a property in Delvine. A Cadastre employee in Gjirokastër will find out the document of a property in Tropoja on the computer and nobody would find out how a property is handled, except the digital machine that will reply via an electronic system to the applications and demands filed by the citizens. I would invite citizens not to report at the Cadastre Agency offices, because nobody would receive them!

The Cadastre is now a window accessible via the e-Albania platform. This is all! The applications can be filed via the online platform only. It is the e-Albania only that will generate replies and documents bearing the electronic seal, with inalienable and uncompromised e-stamp and signature. Not only that, but the system should also be as such that any non-forfeitable individual interested in obtaining a reply and a document will be able to track progress of the process. It has taken a colossal amount of work to get to the point where for such a machine to respond, the data must be available. The Cadastre archives containing paperwork will no longer be accessible and nobody will be able to obtain a letter, remove a letter or add a document to grab property from somebody else and other practices that have traditionally taken place, because the digital revolution of this phase has completed. The system could for some time face problems and complaints, just like it was the case when all the service counters at public institutions were closed and electronic delivery systems became operational, when many claimed that the move would totally collapse Albania, because the retired people and farmers do not know how to use electronic devices and access the platform. But indeed the very people who have no access to lawmakers, high-level officials or influential individuals now have the right solution and they are actually the most regular users of all digital platforms.

When we filed the first document-free application for agricultural subsidies via the digital system, we were told that this would turn out to be a total failure. However, we have recorded the highest number of applications. Such applications have been also filed from individuals from the country’s remotest areas.

So in this respect, I am confident this process is a valuable service we are providing to Albanian citizens, who find it extremely hard to obtained a renewed property ownership certificate, since property renewal is an Albanian invention, unlike the other countries when a citizen is the owner of a property through a certificate his or her family has obtained 300 years ago, whereas one should renew the ownership certificate every three months. And just for a renewal of the document one has to go through a hell of procedures. The Cadastre Director said that it has been a great success for her to collect all the wet or ink stamps which were like guns.

I don’t know whether you feel ashamed, but I personally feel really ashamed. I feel extremely ashamed when thinking about what many have gone through and it would suffice the stories I have come across myself, with people sending text messages that I used to forward to employees and officials and then the same message was repeated after some time, because his or her plight had not been tackled. These are horrible things, most of which we inherit, but it is not that such things haven’t happened later. Sea has also been used as a border of immovable properties. Not only have that, but also complaints and requests have been submitted about a land area twice bigger than Albania’s total territory. Albania has a territory of 28000 square kilometres, while the claims about immovable property include an area of over 40000 square kilometres and these properties with three owners being granted the ownership rights. This whole train of sufferings will end now.

The rest of digital solutions will continue with blockchain technology.

I would invite everyone to make an attempt and I would be pleased to witness your failure. This is what has been done and I am very happy about that. I feel relieved today. It is an extraordinary revolution that liberates everyone. I expect massive resignations from the Cadastre Agency and, on the other hand, the Cadastre Director knows it very well.

The State Cadastre Agency employees are entitled to a very significant pay rise, because these employees should be paid by the government and not by the citizens. So, I avail myself of this opportunity to appeal to the professionals to apply for vacant positions in the Cadastre Agency as they are really essential.

As many as nine directors of the regional State Cadastre office in Vlora have been fired. At some point I stopped counting them. I gave up making efforts as a Vlora lawmaker by consulting with everyone on how to address the matter. We all here are most responsible and accountable for this situation, including me, although this has been the most obvious case when I figured out that nobody is as powerful as the digital technology to tackle this issue.

I think this is a very good day for us as a political party that is committed to transforming this country, because this is really a huge transformation, although a delayed one for 1001 reasons, some of which have been also caused by us.

On Monday, July, the State Cadastre will be something completely different and I would invite the Director of the National Agency for Information Society, who has provided a huge contribution together with the institution she heads, and the Director of the Co-Governance Agency to comment on this  important change.

Thank you!

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