Inefficiencies

By now I should be used to the ad hoc way of operating in Albania, but sometime I never cease to be surprised because daily life always offers special challenges here.

Perfect examples are recent experiences about tax filing for the organization I am involved with. New tax laws went into effect this year, and were immediately applied, but without providing appropriate form changes to the affected business. New technology, already in place, does not necessarily furnish correct data due to improper input, and ‘dulcis in fundo’ there are no real procedures in place. For someone like me that has worked for decades in work simplification, data processing, highly tested computerized processes, working with this way seems inconceivable, but this is reality, and I might add, not only in Albania, but also in Italy where I had to cope with similar experiences until about a year ago.

It’s coincidental that just this morning I read an online letter, addressed to the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera”, in reply to someone that, after having lived in the US for a while, found that things ‘got better’ in Italy after his return. The response (in Italian for those who might be interested in) is particularly ironic with counter experiences ‘enough for a thesis’, according to the writer, who offers specific examples of dealings with state offices, and describes employees’ behavior that I can well relate to.

The funny part is that Albanians, traditionally so closely connected to Italians, replicate a lot their mode of living, whether good or bad. A couple of examples are the state new electrical billing that charges customers not on actual usage, notwithstanding the modern metering system, but favors a monthly ‘forfait’ instead, and the tax forms I just dealt with that are as elaborate and large sized (big as a newspaper!) as the ones I’ve used years ago in Italy! (*)

It took the better part of one morning and three trips to accomplish the payment of local taxes at City Hall this week. Original inquiries about what was needed were never replied to accurately, or completely, thus requiring repetitive visits and production of additional documentation that could have been requested ahead of time.

With such a waste of time and experiences it’s very easy to understand how much remains to be implemented in this country to catch up with efficiency. If, according to my friends and relatives, Italy has decades to go on this, compared to the US, Albania is light years behind, unfortunately! I agree with my Albanian friends that it will take an entire generation, but this does not stop me from trying to help out the current ones as they struggle to forge their future.

(*) PS -
As I wrote the above, I thought of checking whether I could get an update on the refund due to me for taxes overcharged in 2005 by the Italian government. I was informed that my patience should be stretched a couple more years since that state is only now refunding individuals overcharged in 2003. No further comments necessary!!