A broad outline of the successful municipal investment projects and the local tourism development in the revived town was presented at a meeting that the Prime Minister Edi Rama had with local residents.
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Hello everybody and thank you very much for your hospitality!
We are actually here today to take stock of the very good, healthy and really laudable work already done, primarily thanks to the leadership of Permet mayor, as well as thanks to her municipal team and certainly thanks to Mirela’s continued support, as she is really committed to making sure that we deliver on all the projects being implemented in this southern district.
The situation is certainly not all roses now, yet I would like to reiterate that –as it is the case in every other aspect – given where we started from, the situation now is like day and night.
However, we should bear in mind what we want to further deliver as this is just the dawn of a new day, because there is really a lot more to be done and hard work to deliver. Anyway, great job has been done and results speak for themselves, also given the fact that we met three groups of foreign tourists along a 300-meter road only and this was really unimaginable, not 70 years ago, but just seven or eight years ago. These all show that the area and the country in general have huge potential and show us that we know the path and where we are heading to.
I am very glad to underline today that the electricity price has remained unchanged for the household and small business consumers and it has not been increased even by a single cent. But of course, the energy consumption to meet the daily demands of everyone costs dearly and much more than what the households and small businesses pay and of course the government, the state budget covers this whole cost. It is our responsibility towards people and the urge to do whatever anyone would do in their own houses.
On the other hand, the government relief package and support, starting with the retired people, who for the first time in history see their pension payment being indexed twice within a year in accordance with a totally abnormal inflation rate, practically increasing pensions by around 10 %, which is of course insufficient to primarily ease the heavy psychological burden.
And it is not the retired people only, but we have taken stable measures for all the families under the welfare and economic assistance scheme, whole public administration and all workers with a minimum wage to provide them not temporary support, as we actually did three months before the summer season. These new measures are now in place to remain there unchanged.
The new 2023 state budget bill includes more measures that would allow us to actively stand by everyone and make sure that in solidarity and in a transparent way we share among all members of the big Albanian families what is available to them and redistribute in the fairest and just way possible the increased revenue due to the rising prices.
With the measures already in place, with the investment projects already underway, the diversification of the energy sources with the solar panels and photovoltaic parks, with the wind power project already underway, the Skavica hydro power plant and so and so forth, we are on right on track to truly deliver on what we have already pledged and written down on our government program that Albania becomes 100% sovereign in terms of energy supply and a net energy exporter in the next 10 years. Albania will no longer purchase electricity, but the country will generate enough electricity to meet its domestic demand and export the rest of it.
This process will go through two stages. The first stage of making up for this 25% will be implemented within 2026 and the rest only will remain for the prolonged drought periods when we would be forced to import electricity.
We have been mulling plans over imposing an extraordinary tax on all energy producers. It is a small number of energy producers that sell electricity to the free market and just like other energy producers in Europe and elsewhere in the world they gain incredible earnings and this is not because they have implemented any new investment project. Acting according to the European directive, we will level an extraordinary tax. But we will do so not simply to significantly increase the state budget revenue collections and do no nothing else, but redistribute it in the form of financial support, starting with the pensioners, people in need and include as many households as possible, because we wish to demonstrate strong solidarity with everyone as we all struggle to cope with this huge monster, namely the war-driven inflation. And we are doing so not in words but in deed and truth! It is about a big volume of revenue due to be collected from that extraordinary tax…
On the other hand, we will do everything to go on with continued pay rise, so that we keep promoting and encouraging people as much as possible, not only the public sector workers, but also the private sector employees. We have increased the minimum wage twice and we will increase it again.
If we were to look at some data and indicators, everyone would realize that things in real Albania are completely different from what it sounds to be via the TV channels and news portals that scrupulously think of everything to show people as many reasons as possible that this “country will not succeed.”
But how can one supposedly think that this country would never succeed if the area of cultivated land in the country has now doubled compared to six or seven years ago?
Why wouldn’t this country possibly succeed now that the import-export ratio has been narrowed to 1 to 3 from one to seven just six or seven years ago?
How can one possibly say that this country won’t develop although the country’s agricultural exports have kept expanding significantly also during the tough period of the pandemic?
The fact that the imports are falling shows the domestic market now offers more locally-grown produce and manufactured goods.
Meanwhile, as if Putin’s war-triggered inflation was not enough, we have to also deal with the “rouble opposition.” Their rouble-funding history is much broader than the one we are aware of and they are now fighting, arguing who did and who didn’t know about it, who has received the money, but when this scandalous , if you still remember, they all rushed to deny any wrongdoing.
It is not a coincidence at all that also the shameful story about the alleged organ trafficking resolution, which has unjustly stamped a badge of shame, not on the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA), but on the forehead of the Albanian people and nation, as the resolution identifies each and every one of us as barbarians that smuggle human organs when fighting for their freedom.
It is not a coincidence that the Albanian delegation there was divided and there were precisely the ones in power previously voted in favour of that disgraceful resolution, just as it is not a coincidence that even in a situation like this, they only seek to kindle the fire that an enemy of all people has lit who want to live in their work, in their freedom, in their country and who do not want to be touched by anyone who is no longer big, which is stronger.
This is a very important communication also for another reason, because this is not an electoral campaign – although the next elections are nearing – but we are here not to ask for votes in elections. We are here to share with people a series of things and issues we think are valuable to the spirit of the community and the family.
