Author: Dallandyshe XHAFERRI
"I was traveling on the Durrës-Tirana highway towards the capital when I was stopped by a police car with its sirens on. I didn't understand what was happening. They asked me for a traffic permit, license and started the procedures they follow in cases of detention", - this is what Marjus Merhori writes, among others, on the "Sinjalizo" platform. The young man from Kavaja, who had the police 'surprise' two months ago, is not worried about the stop, but about what came next. He was informed by the police that he had not paid a fine that he knew nothing about, he had not been informed anywhere, not even in the "E-fine" system.
"They told me that based on the application of my license plate in the system, it turned out that I had received a fine a year ago and I was not aware of it. I was told that the car would be impounded, but I refused such a decision, asking for an explanation of where and when I had received this fine," the 25-year-old continues, adding that he was told that "the fine was taken from the smart car and it was a year ago without telling me specifically what had happened".
Still unclear and uninformed about the administrative measure, Marjusi tells "Sinjalizo" that in order to prevent the unjust seizure of the car, he turned to the Tirana Police. There he was informed that the fine had been imposed in the city of Kavaja, but again no one gave him an answer as to why he was fined.
"I still don't know where I got this fine, as I follow the rules of the road a lot due to the fact that I see it as a civic conscience to protect myself, others and to avoid a road accident",- reiterates the citizen, while announcing that, one day after the event "the police said that the fine had been removed from the system".
"I have often checked the system of fines and I did not get any fine", - he says, adding,- "From the communication I had with the police officers I was told that the fine could have been imposed as a result of the Iranian cyber attacks and it could have been imposed incorrectly,"- says the whistleblower, adding that the lack of documentation of the fine is a problem for drivers.
Digitization of millionaires, but only in theory
But, although the citizen was given as an explanation for the undeserved fine the attack of the system by Iranian hackers, through the response to the request for information the National Agency of the Information Society (AKSHI) indicates that "The approved limit fund for E-fines is ALL 357,428,000 without VAT, where the fund for the value of Implementation is ALL 262,228,000 without VAT and the fund for the maintenance value is ALL 95,200,000 without VAT",- AKSHI informs in response.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance and Economy explains to "Sinjalizo" that in the fund approved for the project of digitization of the fines system, "Improving the system of fines, integration with radar support equipment, and supplementing with tablets for the State Police", in 2022, 130 million ALL was planned and 128.8 million ALL was realized, "and 90 million ALL was planned for 2023," - it is written in the response of the Ministry of Finance.
The problem is not only E-fines
But, E-fine is not the only case where the digitization of the system has not been successful. In May "Sinjalizo" published article where the teachers denounced the malfunctioning of the SMIP online student register. This system has continued to show persistent problems in erasing grades or changing them for different subjects.
Gjergji M, parent of one of the students of the "Naim Frashëri" high school in Durrës, tells "Sinjalizo" that not all of his daughter's grades were reflected in the online register at the end of the third semester. "I constantly communicated to the girl's teacher that after the end of the third semester, the grades did not appear in the register. She told me that she would throw them away, while when I came in I would see them, the next time the list of grades was empty", - he concludes. Despite the problems that have accompanied this system during this school year, AKSHI in its response to "Sinjalizo" informs that from the state budget "the limit fund approved for the maintenance of SMIP is ALL 53,467,200 without VAT".
Online voting
Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission answered the question of "Sinjalizo" how much was the approved fund for the purchase of online voting equipment in the local elections of May 14, that the total value was up to ALL 929,187,443. Also, this institution adds: "We do not have an approved fund for the maintenance of these devices." During the local elections on May 14, the electronic devices showed numerous problems in the voting process, not recognizing the voter identification tools.
Economy expert: Cheap goods are bought expensively
Pano Soko, an economic expert, tells "Sinjalizo" that every investment made in the function of digitization is positive, but the issue is "lame" in their quality.
"It should be divided into two parts, macrostructure and microstructure. In the macrostructure, the question is: are these expenses needed, are they necessary? And the answer is yes. Naturally, everything related to digitalization is progress and we demand that all the processes that are carried out in analog form today be digitized, because this is the reality we are in and very soon we will have to embrace a new reality, which will life even more digital than this. Therefore, every investment made in the field of digitization is necessary", - says Soko, adding that "the public money that is spent must maintain the quality of the investment. Spend as much money as you need for the investment. This is probably the problem we have", - says the economy expert, adding that "investments are not of high quality because the money has flowed somewhere".
This article was created based on input provided by individuals who have chosen to speak up. Share your story, empower others and be an agent for change. Visit the website: www.acqj.al/sinjalizo-dhe-ti/
