The PD and the democratic government transformed by Albanian communists:
-730 thousand unemployed
-80% and the economy totally destroyed
-40% drop in production
The singers of Zëngjini deceive with figures of 3% of GDP
EDI PALOKA
730 thousand unemployed and with more than 97 percent of consumption uncovered, this is how former chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania, Fadil Bajrami, describes the situation in employment. Comparing the employment situation with the economic one, Mr. Bajrami concludes that the figures given by the socialists are untrue. According to him, unemployment reaches 730 thousand. Mr. Bajrami says that Albanians in work are being systematically reduced, something confirmed by the figure of pensioners, 360 thousand people, and the reduction of 600 thousand cooperative members. All together, for a total of 960 thousand people, they are working people. Compared with the population size, around 730 thousand people are left without work.
In addition, Mr. Bajrami notes that Albanians who are employed are only in agriculture. “So, the Albanian economy turns out to be mainly agrarian, with only a 3% contribution to the country’s overall output from industry. If we compare it with Kosovo, which in 1989 had 340 thousand employed people with a developed industry,” Mr. Bajrami observes. From this he concludes that industrial production figures are catastrophic, which is also proven by the fact that factories are not working and are being destroyed. “77 percent of the economy has been destroyed,” Mr. Bajrami states, among other things. In this context he also gives assessments of the mines, where the situation is tragic. “Of the 49 mines that existed, only 5 are now being exploited. The others are flooded, and even these 5 that are operating are heading toward shutdown.” He then continues listing other indicators for the economy. “Oil production before 1992 was 1 million tons, whereas now it has fallen to 370 thousand tons; coal production from 2.4 million tons to 40 thousand tons.”
“The chrome industry is blocked and there are some of these that do not function, apart from Bulqizë and perhaps another one. The potential of foreign traders for Bulqizë was rejected by officials for [?] reasons. This decision led to a loss of 3 or 4 years, leaving miners without work.” The same catastrophic situation is also seen in the construction enterprise sector. “Today there are around 400 construction firms. If we take a look, we will notice that the public projects undertaken by these firms are very few and are not enough to cope with the army of builders left without work. They operate by exploiting subcontractors, but even these latter are crushed by late payments and all kinds of maneuvers.”
The journalist notes that emigration is now beginning to reverse, as 1.5 million Albanians who left the country after pluralism was established in Albania are returning. “These thousands of Albanians who left the country in conditions of a struggle for survival set out with no intention of coming back, but now they are returning desperate and exhausted emotionally and physically, with no hope left. Naturally, this new contingent will add to the army of unemployed.” As for the number of new businesses among hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, he considers it nothing compared with the country’s urgency. “If we were to translate it into economic language, Albania ranks after Malta and Cyprus in terms of 1 million inhabitants, even though those two countries are smaller and less populated.”
According to him, the noticeable lack of state revenue as a result of the low taxes on small business proves the deep poverty of the Albanian economy. He further insists that Albanian industry must get back on its feet as soon as possible. Referring to the energy crisis, Mr. Bajrami describes it as very serious. To illustrate this, he asks: “How much electricity does an Albanian family use per month? Only 120 kilowatts. This figure includes only the need for lighting and pumping water. There is no mention of water supply or heating.”
He further adds that Albanian industry will become a burden if it continues to be fed with electricity, because in that way it has no future. “The problem lies in the construction industry for energy works, which in a sense excludes foreigners,” he said. Returning to his argument, he emphasizes that according to estimates by foreign specialists, annual electricity production here will reach 7.6 billion kilowatts. On the other hand, domestic needs are greater. “I do not understand how the government can claim that the Albanian economy, worn down by heavy investments, will receive a positive response”?!, he asked. According to him, the Albanian government is taking arbitrary actions in resolving this issue.
Mr. Bajrami also analyzes what he says was the government’s speculation with prices. “The government has raised the price of electricity 7–8 times without doing any new work to increase production capacity. Albania had one of the lowest electricity prices in Europe. But now it is being treated like a luxury good.”
He links the rise in electricity prices to pensions, and according to him this affects purchasing power. “Better give pensioners more money than take more from them through the electricity bill.”
According to him, there are no direct foreign investments in our country, and these are a decisive factor. “A sugar factory with average capacity would cost 20–25 million dollars. That money does not exist in Albania. Most private investments are in agriculture, but they cannot solve the unemployment issue in the country.”
He considers the government’s claim of 3 percent GDP growth absurd. “That figure may have been taken only as a nominal figure. To me it is unclear by what methodology GDP is being calculated when it is known that the main components that make it up are industry, agriculture, construction, services. But if we calculate trade properly, which also comes from imports, in short this country has no GDP”
PRESIDENT