Prime Minister Edi Rama at meeting with Kukes residents as part of the ongoing national campaign the Municipality We Want:

Thank you very much!

I am really happy to have this opportunity to gather at this meeting as part of the ongoing national campaign the Municipality We Want today as we kick off works to construct Albania’s second international airport. I believe we will also commence work to construct the third airport in the city of Vlora soon. I am convinced that while I am speaking, Vlora citizens are making “angry posts” on Facebook, because Kukes residents irate anytime I visit Vlora, while Vlora citizens become angry when I visit Kukes, yet it is important that we are committed to building both Kukes and Vlora international airports.

Kukes airport has great potential and several specific features. First, the airport will mainly service low-cost flights.

Secondly, the airport lies in a strategic location as it includes a considerably large region of Albanians on both sides of the border who travel a lot. The new airport will certainly provide the young Kukes boys with the opportunity to fly often from Londra on cheap flight tickets. Many of them will fly back to Kukes on business trips, as well as to join their families and relatives on holidays. Some of them could fly to join protests here, but this doesn’t matter. We can’t do anything about this.

It is important that we launch project today to finish the civil works within a year and then finalize all the necessary international certifications as soon as possible so that it becomes operational and flights begin at Kukes airport.

We predict a total capacity of 300 000 passengers during first year of the airport’s operations and we expect the capacity to increase to a maximum of 1 million passengers annually. It is completely feasible and a project that will become a significant generator of new jobs as a result of development of business and the local economy.

It is a known fact that each dollar invested in commercial aviation is translated into four dollars in revenue. But it is for sure that the airport will usher in a new era of development for the whole area as it will naturally create new opportunities with the growing needs for services. The entire service infrastructure will generate around 12 000 new jobs during a period of several years.

We are also about to complete the project on a new stadium because we believe Kukes deserves a new stadium. In this regard, this is a bad day for my Vlora friends as they want a new stadium too. You and Vlora citizens ask for the same thing. As we have already promised, we will invest in building new stadium. We have already made available a funding and the Albanian Football Association will earmark a certain amount of funding and we will soon visit Kukes again to inaugurate beginning of works to build the new stadium. The stadium will meet international standards and whenever Kukes F.C. takes part in European football tournaments, you will no longer need to immigrate to other stadiums, but you will host the guests right here. The new stadium too will help the local economy and business grow, just like it is the case in Elbasan and Shkoder.

Third, last but not least, I believe it is time you trust us to head Kukes Municipality. I want you to trust us the Municipality of Kukes so that we implement a series of major projects that should have completed long ago. We want to head Kukes Municipality in order to put an end to a worrisome and ridiculous situation, when it takes four months to receive the due permit to construct regional hospital although the government has already earmarked a funding to support reconstruction of regional hospital, which still fails to meet your expectations despite the great transformation it has already gone through. We have allocated a funding to build a necessary part so that the hospital’s infrastructure completes to provide care services to a whole region, but it takes four months for the local government authorities to issue the construction permit! I have yet to figure out the reason why it took four months for a construction permit, but we have actually wasted four months.

The regional hospital in Kukes today delivers care services that were unimaginable few years ago. In order to undergo certain prenatal tests and screening, pregnant women had to travel either to Prizren or to Tirana, whereas such tests and screenings, and many other health care services, are performed at Kukes hospital today.

We’ve finally succeeded in getting out of the hole we inherited as the medical specialization program was closed for four years and it took four more years to have the first group of physicians and other specialty doctors. Some 10 young doctors have been appointed to provide full-time care services at Kukes hospital. A number of specialty doctors travel frequently to Kukes and provide their assistance to local doctors as part of the Hospitals’ Patronizing Program. All these will improve care services and will reduce cost and the expenses related to trips to Tirana in order to receive hospital services.

We have found out that the adventure and mountain tourism figures in the region of Kukes in 2018 have increased by 17% compared to 2017. I am confident that investments in rural and mountain tourism and agri-tourism in this area are the right way for many rural households and individuals, who for many reasons won’t be able to escape from poverty by dealing with agriculture and farming alone. Yet they can move out of poverty and earn a lot more than they do while working abroad should they invest in projects to transform their private homes into guesthouses and agri-tourism facilities and make use of their agricultural land, livestock, traditional hospitality.

We have already launched a program to support – not loans, but grants allocated by the government or the European Commission – projects in building guesthouses and agri-tourism start-ups across the country. A series of projects are already underway and several initiatives have been launched. But a lot more projects and agri-tourism initiatives are needed to attract visitors and consumers right to your own houses. This is a way to build a stable household economy.

We have adopted the most significant tax cut on the small business operators. A zero tax rate has been levied on small business with an annual turnover of 15 million lek, whereas tax rate of a five percent only is imposed on businesses with annual turnover of 140 million lek. The reduced tax regime has provided incentives to small business and has created more opportunities. But the airport here represents a huge leap forward as it will significantly boost services sector and the number of consumers. The number of people visiting and staying in the town of Kukes will increase and consumption will grow.

We are at a moment of great change in Kukes and such a change should be accompanied with a change to the local government. Fortunately, all things and aspects match for the best and it takes a little more attention from Kukes citizens, who see through their own eyes – and fortunately they form a majority – because we found the candidate for the post of the Kukes Mayor among you. We found him among you and he is a champion, or a favourite to win the championship, because it seems you won’t meet the objective this year, but at least you can win the Municipality. Once you win the Municipality, I am confident you can win the championship too.

I really regret that our rivals are not in form at all. No matter how good team you are, when playing against a rival squad not in top form, it is difficult to play excellently as the rival’s performance doesn’t motivate you. When facing a weak rival, you become distracted too.

I would like to recall a critical moment we experienced with Kukes when a toll was imposed on the highway. Indeed, we were wrong, whilst you were right. However, Kukes and whole Albania used to have a previous government that did a lot of things wrong, but it thought little and never reflected. While the today’s government makes mistakes from time to time, yet it thinks a lot and reflects when it is wrong. We haven’t fallen from heaven. We are not infallible and in the process of doing so many things at once, of course it is impossible to avoid mistakes, like the one concerning the road toll, which was not a small mistake as it worried an entire community. However, it is important that we are aware of the fact that we make mistakes and we persistently insist to do our best by telling the people “you are right,” when they are really right.

Those who protest are not always right. Those who react are not always right. You were totally right in the case of the road toll and I am really happy today to remind the fact that we reacted accordingly. Today we have found a reasonable solution that is also attracting investments and is addressing the road’s dangerous spots. You have seen the all the investment already underway to complete one of the road’s lane, which was left unfinished. Because it is easy for them to claim: “we built the highway,” but they didn’t complete any of the road projects. This highway too, which is the best work they have done compared to other infrastructure projects, was left unfinished. You can notice the difference as soon as you cross the border to Kosovo.

Just like they did with their roads, the opposition today has taken to the streets. We are tasked with completing these roads, yet we are obliged to relieve them from the trouble they themselves chose to go through. Who told them to walk out of Parliament.

Well, they left, but why are they trying to enter forcefully the Parliament every Thursday? If you decide to leave, then just leave. You can’t enter now a place by resorting to violence.

You were in? Who did kick you out?! They shut the door in their own face and now are asking us to open the door to them. We can’t do it. We tried it once and we did so with a high sense of responsibility two years ago, when we could well have told them to keep doing so.

They all understood they were unable to win. They all did, yet they were seeking excuse to justify the election defeat.

The international partners tried too and after making all efforts they conceded: “Regretfully, you should conduct elections without them.” However, they though it wouldn’t be normal and it wouldn’t be in Albania’s interest. After Lulzim’s repeated pleas, we sit at table of talks and granted them half of the cabinet. And he didn’t take over the Ministry of Culture, but the Ministry of Interior. He didn’t take over the Ministry of Tourism, but that of the Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, the departments with the highest number of public administration employees, including teachers, doctors, nurses.

May I assume the management of the Power Distribution Operator?

–Yes, you can.

What about the Immovable Property Registration Offices?

– Yes, you can.

What about taking over the ALUIZNI too?

-Definitely yes!

What if I take over the General Directorate of Prisons? Because they always want to run prisons, because their claims over the government’s alleged links to criminals has now become a recurring refrain, but while in power they used to free some of the most dangerous criminals from prison.  They used to campaign with them and terrorize citizens and when elections were held the Democratic Party used to win 99.99% of votes in prisons.

We gave them everything.

They were also granted the majority in the Central Election Commission and the chairmanship of this Commission. The elections took place like never before. You remember it quite well. No irregularities, no violence marred the elections and I was greeted by DP representatives wherever I campaigned across the country. I remember the campaign here in Has, where DP representatives were applauding while I was addressing supporters. But today, he claims “the elections were stolen.”

What did they steal from you? How did they steal? They were about to jump from the building’s second floor to join our meeting, because they thought I was going to include Lulzim in the government. They knew he was unable to win the elections, yet they were thinking we are going to govern together.

Why did we do all these?

After being granted everything he asked for, he asked me what I wanted? I told him I want nothing but you to agree that whoever wins the elections would govern the country and whoever loses the polls would stay in opposition, but will also refrain from criticizing Albania in a foreign language and instead to address any problem internally. But they bent the international partners’ ears.

In the 2007 local elections, the then main opposition Socialist Party won two thirds of the municipalities across Albania. We had no power of whatsoever and you know how difficult it was to win the votes when the Democratic Party was in office.

We won elections in 2007, 2011 and 2013 and we won in a race against Sali Berisha (former Prime Minister). Is there any DP supporter who would say that Lulzim is stronger than Sali? Is there anyone who would say that it is rather harder to defeat Lulzim than Sali? I don’t think so. Who would ever believe that we stole elections while being in government and while having made such many accomplishments all over the country?

Who would ever believe this?

We will continue working. Local elections are set to take place on June 30. Our plan to overhaul Kukes airport sounded just a game to them. I knew quite well that we will build the airport and I knew that construction works would begin ahead of the local elections. The only thing I have told the construction company is to work in three-shift system. Whenever a Kukes resident can’t sleep at night, I don’t want him to tell me that the airport is in total darkness. Instead, I want him to see lights. It would be better if they complain about noise rather than that you are sleeping, just like Lulzim does.

I have stated in Parliament that the Socialist Party will win Kukes Municipality and I have stated it exactly during that difficult situation. We will win Kukes Municipality. I am not sure whether we will win Tropoja Municipality too, not because DP is stronger in Tropoja, but because we are not well-organized there. I believe that if Socialist Party and Socialists are well-organized, they would win in every ballot box all over Albania. Because we are the right choice for the Democrats too, while they are good only for themselves. We do not behave badly towards those who do not vote for us and if you look at this carefully, many tell us that we care more about them than about us, I mean the ordinary people.

People know this quite well, but Democratic Party supporters still keep voting for DP thinking: “Ok, Socialist Party is doing everything good, but we are going to vote for DP so that gambling hopefully open again.” They vote for the DP hoping that by doing so they will probably be able to build illegally again; vote for DP so that the game who does and who doesn’t pay electricity bills begins again. DP is not going to win, yet we are going to vote for it. However, Edi Rama and his government does the work, together with “these other fools” who think about work only.

This is no problem at all. We serve both parties equally, especially now when the opposition has taken to the streets and when we are obliged to serve more those who have voted for them. The opposition asked for their vote, pledging to represent their voice in the Parliament. But now they are standing behind people, urging them to set the government and Parliament in fire and then end up in prison.

Citizens voted them to stay in Parliament and not amid the crowd. They gave up parliamentary mandate, claiming: “We want to become like you.” But could they become like you when calling people to trigger chaos? Could they become like you by encouraging people to use violence and then call: “Free our sons!”

It was you the ones to saddle these boys with the responsibility and I keep calling on people not to join their crowd just for a simple reason, because it will be you and not the government the one who would get hurt. These protests wouldn’t trigger early elections. The protests won’t shake the Parliament, but they will harm your own household economy, because consumers would buy less, tourists start to worry and they cancel their bookings. Who is going to pay for that? Those who own a small business will sell less coffee, less food and will provide less services. DP has been transformed into a kind of tour operator. Tourists from Kamza, Shkodra, and Mallakastra close down the Municipality doors and head to Tirana by bus.

I am really grateful for taking the trouble to come here and I believe you all agree on electing Safet Gjici as next Kukes Mayor and I am confident we will meet again soon. Certainly a lot of things have been already done, while many remain to be done and of course there is only one political force that can do things right and that is the Socialist Party.

Thank you very much and I wish the best of luck everyone.