An audit report by the State Supreme Audit has undermined the easy justification that problems in traffic management in Tirana are linked only to damage from protests. According to findings published on October 26, more than half of the monitoring cameras had already been non-functional, while the central system was also found to have significant shortcomings.
More than half of the cameras had no signal
According to the KLSH report, of the 71 cameras installed to monitor traffic in the capital, 40 were not transmitting images at the time of verification on July 1, 2026. This means that 56.3% of the system was out of service, before the latest protest-related damage.
The audit notes that the problem was not temporary. For 11 cameras, the transmission interruption had lasted from two to seven years, while another 14 had been out of service for periods ranging from one to seven months.
Million-lek contract, but the central platform was not working
The camera system had been completed through a 2021 contract worth around 59.9 million lek. Despite this investment, the audit found that the central platform for the simultaneous display of footage was not functioning.
According to the report, operators monitored the cameras individually on computers, raising serious doubts about the real effectiveness of the traffic management system and the use of public money.
Traffic lights also outside the central system
The problems are not limited to the cameras. KLSH found that 10 traffic lights were not integrated into the central system, a deficiency that directly affects traffic administration in a city with heavy traffic volumes.
The report, which covers the 2023–2025 period, also mentions delays in infrastructure projects and problems in monitoring urban services, presenting the situation as a broader administrative failure rather than an isolated episode.
Spending rose, investments remained on paper
The audit shows that spending on the public transport program at the Municipality of Tirana rose from 325 million lek in 2023 to 1.53 billion lek in 2025. According to the report, most of these funds went to subsidies and reimbursements, including passes for students and pensioners.
At the same time, investments were far below targets. In 2023 they accounted for 13% of program spending and in 2024 around 30%, but implementation was zero. In 2025, investments made up only 4% of spending and were carried out at around 2%.
KLSH assesses that over the three years, not even the level of investment planned for a single year, that of 2023, was achieved. According to the audit, a spending structure mainly oriented toward subsidies, combined with low investment implementation, creates a risk that money spent in the sector will not have a real impact on improving traffic and service quality.
The audit findings highlight a problem that goes beyond technical wear or momentary damage. When more than half of the cameras are not transmitting images and the central system is not functioning properly, the question is not only what was damaged, but why the network had been so fragile long before.