“Albania We Want” platform for co-governance with citizens – Interpellation with Kukes region residents:

Prime Minister Edi Rama: I’m here today along with the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy to provide answers to your questions. The rule in this interpellation session under the platform for co-governance with the citizens is that we will provide answers to whomever of you, or several of you, are tasked by others to raise questions over the problem, just like it happens in the Parliament. If you would ask for more explanation, we will go over again and we will then conclude according to the rule. It’s your turn to speak!

Member of Kukes city council: I would like to thank you for directly communication with the Kukes region citizens about a major problem, the toll fee on the Road of the Nation. We are a group of Kukes Municipality representatives and we have the honour to engage in this direct communication with you. We don’t support strikes, or violent protests, but we support protests over economic problems. I will put forwards three requests. During the 2017 electoral campaign, you pledged that government will make the Kukes airport operational; second, you promised that a new football stadium will be built in Kukes and third you also vowed to support investment in construction of local access roads to link administrative units with the main national roads, which are at an extremely poor state. I would also raise two questions, Mr. Prime Minister. Taking into account the fact that Kukes is one of the country’s poorest regions, how it comes that you imposed such a high tariff that is unaffordable for the residents in Kukes region? We have often heard you, minsters and members of the Parliament saying this was a contract negotiated and signed by those who attack it today. Why you didn’t cancel the contract?

Kukes region resident: Why a preliminary assessment of the frequency of the road use was not carried out earlier and why a toll free option was not chosen during the assessment process? How it comes that no minister or a representative from the concessionary never showed up to inform Kukes residents on the application of the toll road? Why the Kukes Mayor says he has not been informed?

Kukes region resident: What is the solution you propose for the travellers who must use the road often but yet they can’t afford paying the tariff? Has your government developed an action plan or policies to improve the conditions for creating new jobs, increase employment and at the same time to increase welfare, knowing that Kukes is one of the poorest regions?

Member of Kukes city council:  I’m a member of the city council and I took part in the protest. We staged the protest as the road toll fee is very high. Don’t you think the tariff will even further impoverish local inhabitants?

Member of Kukes city council: We have been told that the concessionary will allocate 120 thousand euro to the Municipality of Kukes each year. Where this money will end up? How it will be used? What are the Kukes Municipality benefits? Do you think the season ticked system will work?

PM Edi Rama: Thank you once again! Someone of you said it is an honour to communicate with me, meanwhile I’m obliged – also directly with you and all residents who are watching us now – to again apologize to you all for failure to do enough in terms of providing the necessary explanations, because this is part of our responsibility. On the other hand, I want to assure you and everyone watching us now that it was not the lack of communication, neither because we have been indifferent to the problem, nor because we don’t pay attention to your and  the people’s problems, concerns and troubles, and not because we let the things go in a free fall, but because, on one hand, we failed to properly evaluate this stage and, on the other hand, because since end of February we have launched work on one of the contract’s provisions. The contract includes a provision exactly on the road’s most frequent users and it envisages a six-month period to identify those who use the road most frequently, and not those who travel along the road once, twice or thrice a year.

Why the contract envisages a six-month period?

I repeat, this is not an excuse for this particular case since the toll road is being applied for the first time ever in Albania  we should have been more prudent and attentive and we should have been better prepare to provide explanations in advance, just like we are doing today. The contract stipulates a six-month period, because based on best international practice and according to all experts, at least six months are needed to estimate the influx of the road’s most frequent users. If someone says “I’m a frequent user of the road,” this is not enough, but you should really be a frequent user and based on the usage influx then you will be granted access to another system,  which different from the permanent road toll system due to be applied to rare users.  However, since we clearly think that this takes time and also explanation, we have given you and ourselves 60 days available to do this as quickly as possible, but also to do it well, since we don’t want to make things hastily and let them go wrong tomorrow.

I stated yesterday in the Parliament too, we won’t make the tolling system operational earlier. Even if the system will be ready ahead of the 60-day deadline, we won’t make it operational without concluding the formula due to be applied for the local residents first. We should be clear on this as because we don’t want to fall again into the trap we unfortunately fell because of extreme manipulation of this matter and misuse of the residents, lies that were told to the public opinion through defamations and annulment. So at this stage, we are doing this job.

Someone asked me about the Kukes Mayor. I did not meet the Mayor, because he failed to distance himself from violence. I heard him today even saying that I have withdrawn from the tariff and now I must call for the release of people. First, we live in a state that has a Constitution, laws and separate powers in place. It is not the government to decide who is to be judged and sentenced. This is a decision that is made by the law enforcement bodies and the law enforcement bodies have the obligation to do their job. The call to release him or that is a call that goes not only to a wrong address when it comes to me, but it is completely senseless since it is a process that is addressed by the country’s justice bodies.

I would tell to the Mayor of Kukes today that I have not backtracked on nothing, but we are simply pressing ahead with a process we should actually done earlier. This is true. This is what I’ve apologized for and differently from the others before me we don’t consider ourselves infallible. I don’t see myself as infallible and I don’t belong to the group of people who ignore public opinion. More than once I’ve always shown that if I fail to predict things properly, not deliberately, but because I may make mistakes and then people insist, I listen to the people’s concern. By listening the public opinion and by clearly distinguishing between those who protested against the tariff as a discontent but yet civilized citizens and those who joined the protest to set Kukes on fire, it is completely normal to be attentive and reflect.

Let’s answer the questions one by one.

The Kukes airport will open soon. The procedure is underway. The airport will have a different profile from the Rinas, or the Vlora airport, as it will be mainly available to low-cost carriers and flights. The low-cost flights from and to the Rinas airport are out of question due to a binding contract. If today, all Kukes-born citizens who live in Great Britain, Germany, the United States, Italy or elsewhere and all Albanian citizens might rightfully complain over the expensive flight tickets, there is a reason for this. This is all because of a concession contract granted in the past and which entitles the Rinas Airport to impose very high tariffs. The Kukes Airport has the opportunity, the potential and we have conducted entire study and already launched the procedure and we are pretty optimistic that the airport will become operational by autumn. I’m very optimistic that Kukes residents will fly back home via this airport during the year-end holidays. It will be a low-cost airport, mainly available to low-cost carriers.

With regards to the construction of the new stadium, I would say this is yet an open discussion,  taking into account the fact that Kukes football club has made to the top rankings for many years now and the team has not a proper stadium to host international games. Certainly, construction of a stadium is part of the program, but it may take more time rather than the airport which already is under an ongoing process.

Let’s go back to the main topic. One of you asked that how did we accept this toll fee. We have to bear something in mind. The tariff in the first place is not set on Kukes, the tariff is not set on a particular area. The tariff is imposed on a national road, which has a very high maintenance cost and our capabilities are totally inadequate to maintain it.

You have witnessed by yourselves that the Nation’s Road has suffered some dangerous slides. You and everyone else have seen how a service centre was swallowed up. Fortunately there have been no casualties to date.

The study we have conducted has revealed some 37 dangerous accident hot spots along the road where dangerous landslides may take place and significant investments are required to improve safety. The road’s maintenance investments are also desperately needed along its entire stretch. Repairing works are underway and are being carried out by the contracted company operating on the site. The contract’s implementation is already underway as it was signed two years ago. The company that has erected the toll plaza has made other significant investments too.

If we fail to act and intervene today, I assure you that it will be extremely difficult to do so in the future. Should w fail to address the matter today, and then not only Kukes, but also Albania and Kosovo will loose that road, while the reconstruction cost would be extremely dear, much higher than today, without forgetting the fact that the road is incomplete and you know it well. Several bridges have to yet to be constructed. The company will build the new bridge in one of the initial investments the company is set to make. I would like to inform you that the state budget will begin providing its contribution on the fourth year after the start of the implementation of the contract. The state budget has a contribution to make, as we want to maintain the road and we don’t want to further increase cost.

The road has cost 1.3 billion U.S. dollars. The 1.3 billion U.S. dollars has not been paid when constructed and the story was then over. The amount has been borrowed. We pay off the debt each year, the loan’s interest and its principal. We pay off 110 million U.S. dollars each year in debt for investments made in the past. The debt for this road accounts for 37% of the total. It is normal. It has been built on loan and we should pay it.

When I say the previous government launched the procedure and imposed an 8.5-euro toll without the VAT included, it doesn’t mean that we are better, because they levied a 10-euro tariff compared to five-euro fee we imposed. I say this to show that this story is shrouded in tremendous hypocrisy. Because the road can’t be maintained on the state budget and this fact has been acknowledged by my predecessor. I’m not here to deal with politics, neither to debate with opposition through discussions with you, but to provide explanations. My predecessor has stated that his government has built the road, but it can’t afford its maintenance.

The 5-euro imposed toll is a result of the maintenance cost. I repeat, the 5- euro toll is a calculation we can’t avoid, otherwise we won’t be able to maintain the road. It’s that simple. There is a differentiation between all users and the most frequent road users and the local residents. We are working intensively to figure out this differentiation within the 60-day deadline.

Secondly, why the contract was not called off? The previous government’s attempt failed. The road toll was meant to be applied at the end of the term in office of the previous government, ahead of the then general elections, but certainly companies were not sure. This effort went on as there is no expert to say that the road would survive even no maintenance process is carried out.

Another question was why no assessment was made on the frequency of the road’s use earlier?  The evaluation on the frequency of the road’s use takes place in the first 6 months, after the tolling system comes into effect and becomes operational. We followed the other countries practice and our mistake was that we did not estimate the impact since a toll road is being applied for first time ever in Albania. However, this won’t be the last toll road introduced in Albania. The tolling system will definitely be applied in other roads across country, but this was the first toll road ever and we must admit we don’t know everything, we were not born wise and we found ourselves say in such a situation.

What we are doing now is much more difficult since we have to make some extra calculation as well as more projections which are simply predictions and not accurate data. However, we will conclude this process within 60 days and will then announce the conclusions. We should be clear that judging from what I’ve attentively read and heard, I guess that an overwhelmingly majority of the reasonable citizens are not saying that no toll should be imposed on the road, but they say, taking into account the region of Kukes, the region’s current state, the tariff is high for the local residents. This is the logic behind the process.

If it were for me, for what reason in the world, I should get into this troublesome job. But this is what I’m tasked with. It could have been a lot easier for me to say “let it that way and let my successor to deal with the road.” But it would be a great betrayal of trust, responsibility, and duty. Because it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister, it is the responsibility of a leader and he should not deny, or turn a blind eye on the problems he encounters and choose to deliberately ignore it saying: “It’s not a big deal. Who cares?” and then when we follow this path until we reach the edge of abyss, as we have done in the past, then let the others take care of the situation.

So we will seek to reach a satisfactory solution for the local residents as well as the road’s maintenance. This is because we won’t be able to cover the maintenance cost if we turn a blind eye and decide to impose a symbolic toll fee.

I think I already provided an answer to the question as to why no representative from both the government and the contracted company failed to contact local authorities in Kukes.  There is no point in seeking an excuse. There is no excuse for that. We should have done it earlier, but once again, I want everyone to know that there is absolutely no other purpose here than the common good, except for the common interest and except for the obligation to ensure that the road meets the safety standards.

I won’t go over comments and rumours on the concessionary or interests. This are things people used to say, are saying and will keep saying in the future. I owe you telling my truth.

There is also another element you already touched upon and it has to do with the local residents who use the road most frequently, not to travel to Tirana, but they have no other choice except using the road due to the lack of other access or alternative road segments. This category is not recognized by international practice, but in the concrete case, we are obliged to consider it, because in the meantime the concessionaire should build about seven overpasses and seven secondary roads to provide access to local communities. We are also studying this category.

With regards to the question whether the imposition of the roll would further increase poverty in the region we should clearly state that not every car owner uses the road frequently.

Secondly, we should also admit that anyone who uses the road frequently is not poor. I’m not talking about in terms of the high tariff, but we talking about the frequent road users who are not poor, since poor and poverty are being used randomly but we should address these words properly.

Third, I believe the opposite to be true. With the airport due to become operational soon and further promotion of investments we will reduce unemployment. Few days ago, I met two investors who are interested in investing in manufacturing in Kukes and I was really impressed when the two said that local residents in Kukes were really willing to work in the private sector. This is a very positive development.

Of course, poverty in Kukes and whole Albania is a grave and long legacy, but whoever thinks “poverty can be healed by using camomile and beautiful words” he is totally wrong. If this was the case, if poverty was to be addressed by turning a blind eye and letting people not to pay electricity bills then people would have been lifted out of poverty and we wouldn’t have inherited these old wounds that need the truth, patience and pain to be ultimately healed.

This is what I’m saying and I don’t think poverty and unemployment can be healed by kind words and fairy tails and by pledging a free-tax and free-bill policy. We have all witnessed the consequences of such a policy.

As to the amount of 120 thousand euros the concessionary company will provide to Kukes Municipality I would say this is a part of the contract. Public transport by bus or vans will be free. I mean the public transport vehicles will be exempted from paying the road toll. It means the ticket price will remain unchanged. This amount will cover the toll payment for the public transport vehicles. If I’m a car owner and I travel to Tirana 20 times a month then I’m not poor. I’m not rich either and of course I don’t deserve to pay 5 euro back and forth, but however I should pay something. On the other hand, whoever can’t afford owning a car then should use the public transport. Some seven public transport lines operate in the area and all these operators will receive compensation that will be covered by this amount. We are also exploring opportunities to provide full coverage of cost for other vulnerable and needy social categories unable to meet their basic needs.

At what extent the toll tariff will be cut? This is the most difficult part as we are not ready to provide an answer today, but we are working on it. Of course, a much more affordable toll tariff will be applied for the most frequent road users and local residents. But removing the tariff completely is out of question as we won’t be able than to maintain the road and evade accidents and the landslides.

For the first time, the road was not blocked for a single moment by snow this year. This was not thanks to the government, but thanks to the private company. No snow-related accidents have been reported for the first time this year. Some 20 snowploughs operate along the road. Albania has not a single snowplough. We bought 61 excavators and it was an event as if were purchasing the Seventh U.S. fleet, because this is our potential. We inherited a 720 million euro debt. The road itself was built on loan. Those who tell you fairytales are seeking to confuse people. The circulation tax is a national tax and its revenue is not used to cover the roads maintenance cost. The revenue is collected by the state budget and it is then used to support road infrastructure investments. The state budget covers roads maintenance. The state budget pays off the country’s debt. We pay off 110 million dollars to settle past debts. Who would that Prime Minister be telling his own people the government will impose taxes here and tariffs there if not necessary? These are indispensable.

I don’t know whether I forgot something, but it is your turn now and you can add or make your comments if my answers prove inconvincible.

Local resident: Thank you Prime Minister! We received answers to all questions we made, but I would like to once again express appreciation for your speech at the Parliament shortly earlier, when you publicly apologized to Kukes residents for what happened during the protest along the Nation’s Road a week ago. I trust in your authority and I’m convinced that you and your government will do the best for these poor residents and I want to ensure you that these people won’t be manipulated by the politics as it always has done, but it already failed this time.  Kukes has backed Edi Rama, has voted for the Albania we want and we trust your government and your authority.

Pm Rama: Please…thank you but I don’t want to comment on this issue since this is not a political issue. Unfortunately, the opposition refused to attend the today’s parliament session and forward its proposals in order to cut the toll tariff? It is this world’s easiest thing to say “no taxes at all”, but who is going then to be held responsible in the future when the toll tariff could double compared to its today’s rate? Who is going to be held responsible as we will be forced to enter other cycles? Other countries across the world have experienced all of these. People use to point out Germany. It is true; Germany is probably the only country that does not apply a toll system on its highways. But Germany has already launched discussion to impose such tariffs and I avail myself the opportunity to tell you something. I’m not talking about people who use the road to meet their basic needs. How it comes that we pay around 100 euros without asking when we travel along highway linking Ioannina and Athens? The same goes for Italy and other countries where we pay for using their highways.

I’m talking about those who can afford it. Can’t these people really afford paying a five euro toll when they actually spend 700 to 1000 euros for their seaside vacations in Albania?

Data from the Bank of Albania show that Albanian citizens spent around 1.3 billion dollars on vacations abroad. Are they in favour or do they reject the toll? Albanian citizens have travelled around the world and they know very well how things work.

To those who say we are not like the rest of the world, we strive to meet our ends and we should not what the rest of the world does, I would tell them we will never be able to reach the international development standards if we don’t apply same standards the rest of the world does. Secondly, if we keep on lying each other by providing charity or taking more loans and turn a blind eye on the problems we will suffer again as we did due to the pyramidal schemes and the pyramid of loan the previous government received to build incomplete roads across the country.

Do you remember how often my predecessor used to say “you will end like Greece?” He said it because he new the hole in the state budget. How that hole was filled up? It was filled up by the state budget, by the contribution of all people. Of course, we remain disadvantaged in a sense. There is an expression saying: ” A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” There is a lot of lies, a lot of slander, a lot of mud throwing around, yet our responsibility is our responsibility.

There is nothing wrong for a Prime Minister or a government to apologize when there is something wrong or when it is responsible for something. This is not the first time I apologize, but it is important to learn from mistakes and keep on improving things. This is a lesson we should learn, not just in the wake of Kukës protest, but in its entirety and this has nothing to do with those who set the toll plaza on fire.

I commenced this discussion speaking about the Kukes Mayor and I will also conclude it speaking about the Mayor. It was not that fire that forced us to go back to work. We were working. It was of course our fault for not predicting the cost on the honest people, ordinary citizens of Kukes region during the initial six-month period of the tolling system.

This was our fault and we are assuming our responsibility. Asking for apology is simply a gesture while the fact is that we will do whatever it takes to find a solution and impose a reasonable and affordable toll tariff on the most frequent road users. The solution won’t satisfy all because zero is better than one and one is better than two. But it is important to understand that if there exists a person seeking for the best solution for Kukes resident that person is me.

Mr. Prime Minister, in the framework of the problems we addressed during this discussion, is there any government project on development of Kukes, a region abundantly in rich resources, forest, livestock, waters sources and everything else.

The second question, what is going to happen with Topojan and Shishtavec administrative units that have issued permits for construction of hydropower plants?

PM Rama: These questions have nothing to with the topic of today’s discussion but they are of crucial importance. I assure you that we will discuss on these issues in the coming days. But since a concrete question was made, the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy will provide concrete answers. But there is something you know better than me. Mining sector in Kukes has been totally non-operational. Today, a series of significant investments are underway in the region’s mining sector.