Traders do not pay the fines Expired products worth $200,000 $200,000 worth of expired products TIRANA — (e. l.) — Food products that are spoiled or below standard continue to enter Albania, even though there are a number of laws that prohibit this and provide for sanitary seizure by municipalities. Many traders manage to offer the market expired food products or goods with chemical and bacteriological parameters outside the permitted limits. Many such items have been reported in the Tirana district alone, and most of them are buried: during the first months of 1993, the value of the food products destroyed reached $200,000, including eggs, canned goods, chocolate, salami, cheese and sweets. Meanwhile, the fines system has still failed to deter traders from bringing in harmful food, since throughout Albania so far only about 20–30 percent of all fines imposed have been collected. Almost a year ago — on December 2, 1992 — a decision was adopted concerning the operation of controls over the production, storage, sale and manufacture of food products. “The problem is collecting the fines we impose as the sanitary inspectorate,” Kujtim Xaxo, an inspector at the Public Hygiene Directorate of the Ministry of Health, told Gazeta Shqiptare, “because the municipal finance sections do not collect them.” According to several specialists, these products are imported, but the figures also include goods made in Albania or sold by state entities. For example, in the Tirana district, of 1,284 fines, only 709 were imposed on private businesses, while the rest were imposed on state entities. “The current danger is that many traders do not come in to receive the results of analyses conducted on samples of the goods they sell,” Dr. Klodi Xhaja of the Hygiene and Epidemiology Directorate in Tirana told Gazeta Shqiptare. “The fact is that so far we have not recorded even one case [of collection]; the few fines collected to date have been paid only voluntarily by the traders who were fined. As long as such problems remain unresolved, there will continue to be a risk that food products outside the standards and harmful to people's health will be sold.” The destroyed food products were sent away [text unclear]—an effort to eliminate this phenomenon, but also an appeal for caution.

The Forest Police still have no means to prevent this phenomenon Clandestine hunters can be fined only 1,000 lekë ARMAND MERO TIRANA — The alarm has been raised over illegal hunting. A decision taken several months ago to suspend this activity has apparently failed to stop it completely. There have been many reported cases of hunting during this period, and even more reports have reached the authorities. Meanwhile, the hunting grounds in the country's [text unclear] have also begun to be closed. Several months ago, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to suspend hunting in Albania. The reason for this decision — although it was much debated — was to protect the fauna, which, according to specialists, was at risk. But although it is banned, hunting continues in Albania. Numerous cases caught in the act attest to this harmful phenomenon. So far, they have been verified mainly in the south of the country: 17 cases in Gjirokastër, 8 in Vlorë and Berat, and 15 more in Fier and Tepelenë. According to specialists, however, these figures represent only a small part of all the hunting that actually takes place. “There have been numerous reports,” Nihat Dragoi, a specialist at the Directorate of Forests, told Gazeta Shqiptare, “but even in cases that are identified, the legislation in force provides for no more than a fine of 1,000 lekë.” The state of the Forest Police is also a problem. It lacks vehicles and the equipment needed to carry out effective inspections. Most of the animals that fall victim to this illegal activity are hares. Wild birds and waterfowl also account for a large number. There are many cases of hunting them, especially in lagoon areas, particularly in Lezhë. But hunters are not the only ones involved in this illegal hunting. “We are also concerned by people who have obtained gun permits,” Dragoi says. “They are not registered with a hunters' association, yet they hunt with the guns issued to them solely for self-defence.” This is also the reason for a decision taken by the Directorate of Forests in cooperation with the law-enforcement authorities to confiscate all these firearms. This has already been done in several districts of the country and is still continuing. This spread of illegal hunting has even prompted the fauna to return to Albania to be hunted again [wording unclear]. “We have an agreement that you will allow us to hunt again,” said a group of Italians detained earlier this month at the Port of Durrës, because they had arrived with hunting equipment—

A special municipal project But there are fears the facilities could be put to another use TIRANA — (Ar. Me.) — A special project for Tirana. This time attention has turned to public toilets. Renting them out or privatizing them are seen as the most suitable solutions for ensuring that these facilities operate properly. The project — expected to be approved these days — has not yet clearly determined which arrangement will be preferred. However, privatization does not seem appropriate in this case: it could lead the owner to change the facility's use after two years. This is also the concern of specialists. There are only 16 public toilets throughout the capital, three of which are out of service. But the current condition of the other 13 is no better. Water running out on all sides, dirty walls and foul smells are the only features these facilities have to offer. More than 60 workers from Tirana's Cleaning and Landscaping Enterprises are responsible for maintaining them. They work in shifts, two at a time at each facility. Tirana's expansion and the growing number of people moving around the capital each day also call for the construction of several new public toilets. This concern has also been included in the Tirana Municipality's project. Specialists from the Ministry of Construction and Territorial Planning have also put forward many views on this issue. “It would be more useful to build portable urinals that can be connected directly to the discharge pipes,” Abaz Cela, a specialist at the Cleaning Directorate attached to the ministerial council, told Gazeta Shqiptare. “This is also because there is now considerable demand for this necessary public service, which is available in all modern cities.”

Kapsh tice DEVOLL — (p. re.) — Numerous smuggled goods continue to arrive near the Albanian borders, even crossing through customs points without being declared. This time, however, a vehicle transporting beer and wine on behalf of the “Europa” company of Korçë was discovered by officers of the Devoll Financial Police just after it had arrived from Kapsh tica. The value of the goods — now seized — amounts to 473,750 lekë. Four thousand bottles of “Kronenburg” beer and more than 3,500 bottles of contraband wine were found in vehicle EEA 7071. The entire quantity seized by the Financial Police was disposed of, and the proceeds were transferred to the state budget. A few days earlier, at the other border crossing, Bilisht, the passage of several trucks carrying cigarettes that had not been cleared through customs had been reported. The value of these goods smuggled across — in just the last two months — was estimated at a total of millions of dollars.

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Law-enforcement officers stop the fraudsters In Tirana, two fake police officers fine foreign nationals EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — An attempt to set up a private Financial Police. In fact, a fake inspector was stopped by law-enforcement officers while trying to defraud foreign nationals. “There are only two people wearing uniforms who have claimed to be law-enforcement officers, with the aim of taking advantage of foreign citizens.” Two such people have been seen in Tirana; they were detained by the police and are being investigated. “The Directorate of the Order Police has taken measures to prevent such cases.” Near the former “Flora” pastry shop, several Albanian citizens from Macedonia fell victim to these “financial police officers.” The “financial police” officers demanded penalties from them “as required by law” and blocked 1,200 lekë, but following the intervention of their chief, the fine was reduced to 500 lekë. While the financial police officers were carrying out their activities in the centre of the capital, they were stopped by officers of Police Station 3. Instead of a licence, they were presented with two charges: “usurpation of authority” and “conduct carried out by deception.”

No decision on the prizes TIRANA — (Ar. Me.) — Nearly $3,000 have held up the announcement of the winners of the National Visual Arts Competition “Onufri '93”. The deadline set for announcing the best works and awarding their prizes — December 15 — passed a week ago. Existing laws do not allow the Ministry of Culture to make such a payment; the maximum prize it may award is apparently 2,000 lekë [text unclear]. The “Onufri” exhibition opened at the end of November. It included 150 visual artists with approximately 850 works. For the first time, works were accepted without undergoing any kind of selection. Also for the first time, the prizes for the winning works were quite substantial. The first-place winners — in painting, sculpture and applied arts — were each to receive $500; the second-place winners, $400 each; and the third-place winners, $250 each. But just as the time came to award the prizes, the Ministry of Culture realized that it could not make these payments. Existing law did not permit it. A draft decision was quickly drawn up to resolve the problem. [It is now with] the Ministry of Finance. So the decision is now in the hands of the Finance Ministry. The participating artists will therefore receive the prizes they were promised.

NEW UNDP PROGRAM FOR ALBANIA FOR THE PERIOD 1994–1996 — UNDP — the United Nations Development Programme — will provide Albania with approximately $6 million through 1996. This amount, which is part of the organization's new program, could increase if Albania is classified among the least developed countries — a procedure currently under review — adding a further $4–5 million to the aid fund. COOPERATION PROJECT IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY — The delegation of the Abruzzo Agricultural Associations has left Albania. During its stay, a number of animal-husbandry projects to be implemented between Albania and Italy were discussed. These associations will buy 1,500 dairy cows to distribute in several experimental areas. The Abruzzo region will also provide a large quantity of seed potatoes.