- Three observations from the districts -

LET US DISCUSS THROUGH THE NEWSPAPER The organization of enterprises on an independent-accounting basis requires, first of all, that the plan be measured against the sale of the output produced to the recipients of the goods. In the case of goods produced for consumption, this is in the interests of commercial enterprises and has a considerable effect on improving the population’s supply of various goods. On the other hand, the producing enterprises themselves are encouraged to achieve output in the required quantities and quality, across a range of products, and on a regular basis. But under the new conditions, when it is no longer enough to aim at producing goods merely to fill the enterprise’s warehouses, one link becomes particularly sensitive: transport. Only an efficient, agile transport system can ensure complete and even distribution—not more at one time and less on another day, but a regular flow on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Let us see how this problem appears in relations with the knitwear combine in Korçë, one of the largest centers of light industry in our country. The knitwear combine has contractual relations with all the country’s commercial enterprises and enterprises in the municipal system, as well as those in light industry and even the Ministry of Education, etc. In all, 600 contracts have been concluded with it. Under the law, the producer itself—that is, the knitwear combine—is obliged to deliver the goods (to all 600 destinations) to the users. How is transport carried out at present? Most distribution is done using freight-forwarding vehicles. In this case, it is done through the Korçë freight-forwarding branch, with which an annual transport contract has been concluded, divided into quarters. The contractual documents reflect the combine’s obligation to deliver all its finished output to the users. But… if we look at recent years, the freight-forwarding service has consistently fallen significantly short of its targets, both in tonnage and in ton-kilometers. As a result, problems have arisen for the combine, and even more so for commercial enterprises and those enterprises that use the combine’s materials as raw materials, such as cotton yarn, thread, etc. To make this concrete, let us turn to the following figures for the first quarter of the current year. The Korçë freight-forwarding branch achieved 20 percent of the contracts using its own vehicles, and 16 percent using vehicles belonging to freight-forwarding enterprises and other networks (vehicles on return trips). Under these circumstances, commercial enterprises from various networks across the country sent their own vehicles from their fleets, or vehicles normally used to supply their own networks. Although these means of transport were used out of necessity (curiously, these contributions are counted toward the freight-forwarding branch’s contract), 122 tons of goods still went untransported. Knitwear, socks, thread, tulle, and cotton yarn worth nearly 4 million lekë were not delivered to users. This picture continued into the second quarter. In April and May alone, transport fell 27.4 percent short of its target. Another factor makes this weakness in transport worse. When ad hoc vehicles are put into service, opportunities arise for goods to be pilfered in transit, causing losses to the enterprise. Last year, losses worth 173 thousand lekë were recorded during the transport of socks and knitwear. In the first quarter of this year, shortages amounting to 47 thousand lekë were recorded. What should be done? Transport vehicles should be put at the service of the knitwear combine. More broadly, enterprises and freight-forwarding branches across the network are not meeting their obligations. By simply reducing the substantial losses in transport, the combine could secure enough funds to buy vehicles. Having its own vehicles would also create the conditions for a considerable reduction in the high costs of packaging (the current packaging is designed to prevent theft, which, as it turns out, is unavoidable). With transport carried out using its own vehicles, the combine’s representative would accompany the goods. Packaging could be switched entirely to non-returnable polyethylene sacks. Last year, the combine used 103,938 meters of fabric for packaging, worth 337,116 lekë. Wooden crates, the metal strips around them, and so on also account for considerable expenditure. There are many arguments in favor of changing the way transport is organized. These changes are dictated by the transition of enterprises to independent accounting. SOTRAQ QAFZEZI Head of the Distribution Department at the knitwear enterprise, Korçë

The collective of the plastics factory in Lushnjë is among the most outstanding in the district. IN THE PHOTO: Fitnete Demiri at work in the coated-fabric department. (Photo: N. Xhufka)

Exceeded the six-month targets The construction and landscaping enterprise in the capital fulfilled its plan for the first six months of this year in all technical, economic, and financial indicators. It fulfilled its various municipal services at 100 percent, while investments in the economy reached 117 percent of the target. The enterprise made significant overfulfillments, especially in the export of mimosa and linden flowers, exceeding the targets by 61 and 80 percent, respectively. H. HYSENI Fulfilled the annual target In the final days of the first six-month period of this year, the workers at the heated greenhouse in Komës, belonging to the Mat Agricultural Enterprise, successfully fulfilled this year’s planting targets. On an area of 2.6 hectares, they harvested 2,500 kg of vegetables. As a result of this praiseworthy work, each worker received an extra month’s wages. But the benefits of their valuable work are also enjoyed by the enterprise and the residents of the village of Burrel and other towns in this district, through the supply of the market. Since the beginning of April, tomatoes and cucumbers from this farm have been available in the shops. A. RAMA New products for young people The embroiderers at the “Marigo Posio” artistic enterprise in Vlorë have reached a total of 100 different items featuring national motifs and symbols. Recently, as part of the movement “As the youth are today, so will the Homeland be tomorrow,” the youth organization at this enterprise took the initiative to produce artistic items with national motifs and symbols for young people. These include, for example, embroidered shirts with a stylized image of the head of Dea e Brunit, [unclear], sticks made with tourist-style decoration, shirts with folk motifs from Central Albania, and others. In addition, knitted and wearable items featuring the eagle motif, miniature portraits of distinguished workers, and figures in the folk costumes of various regions are being produced. (Continued on page 4)

- BERAT - For the January–June period, District 1 of Berat has recorded significant savings in electrical energy. Nevertheless, when we speak with specialists from the electrical department of the electric power enterprise, which became financially autonomous on July 1, we learn that there is still untapped potential, and that ways and means remain to improve these indicators further. First, there are network losses. They say that inspections have revealed many cases of waste by individuals. Meanwhile, there are enterprises such as the construction enterprise, NPD, NPA, etc., which use powerful transformers and transmit high-voltage current over long distances. Another issue is establishing standards for electricity consumption. Every enterprise now has groups of workers responsible for managing this energy properly at each production unit. To ensure that the work of these groups does not remain merely a matter of recording figures, the electrical department says they need to determine precisely the optimal quotas for each product, so that the electricity balance can be measured in terms of both waste and consumption. Consumption—for example, in the production of bread, olive oil, etc.—means that we also need to know the “share” of electrical energy. Moving from actual standards to scientifically determined standards would enable both the electric power enterprise and the production enterprises to analyze the causes of deviations.

- VLORE - The high temperatures now make it necessary, among other things, to irrigate crops according to their daily needs. Proper monitoring of this is a duty. The most important task, specifically, is to ensure that plants receive the necessary amount of water at every moment. Is this being done? The failure to meet this obligation at the Lakatund Agricultural Enterprise has drawn our attention. Workers complain that, at such a decisive time, the crops are being left without water. The managers say that on June 28 a meeting was held in Risili with the water directorate for this purpose. It was decided that Lakatund would receive water from the Pënkova canal at a rate of 300 liters per second for 24 hours. But an inspection of the amount used shows that this schedule has not been followed on a single day. The day after the meeting, the supply was 95 liters per second, and the following day it was 90 liters. The amounts have continued to decrease, and on June 2 the supply did not even reach 80 liters per second. The complaints may well be justified: why is the farm still operating on such low water quotas? Nevertheless, when asked, the directorate has only replied, “We don’t know anything about this.” What, then, do the employees of this directorate think? There are other areas that have gone for days without receiving water in accordance with their needs. We found ourselves in plots belonging to the brigade led by Panajot Pela, in the Narta cooperative. For several days in a row, not a single drop of water reached them. The same situation exists in other plots in this sector, such as those in Zvernec, and in rural cooperatives such as Trevëllazër and others, whose land badly needs irrigation. VANGJEL STEFA

- DIBËR - In many agricultural enterprises in the district of Dibër, high temperatures have caused concern for the crops, or, more precisely, no lessons have yet been learned from the droughts of previous dry years. Numerous examples bear this out, and can be found in Masllare, Dovolon, Bulqizë, Slatinë, and elsewhere. All the crops, not just the corn, have wilted so badly that they cannot recover even with abundant water, we are told from Maqellara. The canal coming from Cerrena is almost empty. For 12 days, this farm has not received about 70,000 cubic meters of water from the water enterprise. The deficit continues to deepen these days as well. The economic damage amounts to hundreds of thousands of lekë. Yet these shortages could have been entirely avoided. They are occurring not because there is no water, but because the farms are failing to coordinate with the water enterprise. Other facts also show that these shortages are caused not only by drought, but by poor work organization as well. In Dovolan, too, the crops’ need for water is great. Since June 20, one farm should have been supplied with water from the Bllaca reservoir. There were arguments and objections from the water enterprise, and the reservoir was opened only after a delay. After that, a fault occurred, and to this day the water is still in the reservoir while the crops dry in the sun. In Maqellara, Zdojan, Bulqizë, and elsewhere, motor pumps are out of order. In Bulqizë, vegetables, alfalfa, and corn are drying up at the Agricultural Enterprise. Several working groups from the executive committee, together with the managers of the farms and the water enterprise, have been sent out to the farms where the problem is most serious. FRANO ÇAKA

On the evening of July 2, at around 10 p.m. in Tirana, a group of vagrants, former prisoners for minor common offenses such as theft, illegal lotteries, and gambling, together with several manipulated and incited teenagers, entered a foreign embassy by force. On the evening of July 2, at around 10 p.m. in Tirana, a group of vagrants—former prisoners for minor common offenses such as theft, illegal lotteries, and gambling—together with several manipulated teenagers, were incited to force their way into a foreign embassy. They attacked the law-enforcement officers with stones, bricks, and other objects. In support of this crowd of 300–400 people, some members of their families also gathered, creating an alarming situation: they blocked traffic and the free movement of citizens, threw stones at officials and at the people who had come out to defend public order, broke the windows of several shops, and made a racket. This act disturbing public order outraged the workers of the capital at large, because it sought to create disruption in their peaceful lives and to strike at the spirit of revolutionary enthusiasm generated by the decisions of the 10th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee and the laws recently adopted by the People’s Assembly. In particular, it sought to damage the good relations that exist with friendly states represented in Tirana and to distort Albania’s image in the world. With the immediate intervention of the law-enforcement forces and the workers of the capital, those who had disturbed order and public peace were dispersed. There were minor injuries on both sides. A number of them were detained by the police for the necessary investigations. (ATSH)

- TV commentary - This is all the more outrageous now because our entire society is working and struggling enthusiastically to implement the important decisions of the 10th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee and the measures established in this spirit at the latest session of the People’s Assembly. The purpose of this is clear. Through this activity, an attempt is being made to disrupt the joyful atmosphere of life, made even more vibrant by the unstoppable process of democratization in the country, and to put obstacles in the way of this entire process, which enjoys the support of the whole people. Such harmful conduct and actions seek to sabotage the law, damage the good relations that exist with friendly states represented in Tirana, and distort Albania’s image in the world. Through the joint efforts of the law-enforcement forces and the workers of the capital, those who had disturbed order and public peace were dispersed. There were minor injuries on both sides. A number of them were detained by the police for the necessary investigations. These events, which took place last night and involved vagrant elements and some of their families, distorted matters and rightly outraged the citizens of Tirana and their honest fellow citizens who learned about them. This is all the more outrageous now because our entire society is working and struggling enthusiastically to implement the important decisions of the 10th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee and the measures established in this spirit at the latest session of the People’s Assembly. The authorities, for their part, must apply the laws and established regulations correctly. Our people are engaged in constructive work, having undertaken to accomplish major tasks and placing full confidence in the path we are following. They will not allow anyone, whether deliberately or not, to divert them from the path they have chosen for themselves. Our people do not remain indifferent when the interests of the homeland are touched, when their power is touched, or when their clean, free, and sovereign life is threatened. Fully united and with ranks closed around the Party, with comrade Ramiz Alia at the head, they will move forward confidently, undaunted by circumstances.

Yesterday, the Foreign Minister of the Swiss Confederation, René Felber, received the Deputy Foreign Minister of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, Muhamet Kapllani, who is in Bern for a short working visit. During the meeting, which took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, they discussed the progress and further development of relations and friendship between the two countries, and expressed their shared view that opportunities exist to intensify relations between the two countries further. Foreign Minister René Felber praised the democratization process taking place in Albania, describing the country’s development and its rapprochement with the European process as progress. During the meeting, views were also exchanged on several issues of current international interest, especially in Europe and the Balkans. Also yesterday, Deputy Foreign Minister Muhamet Kapllani held talks with Switzerland’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Klaus Jacobi; the Political Director, Jeno Salla; the Director of the Directorate of Bilateral Relations, Marianne Von Grunigen; and other officials. During the talks, there was a broad exchange of views on the current situation in Europe and on steps being taken toward deepening and institutionalizing the process of European security and cooperation. The Swiss side welcomed Albania’s joining this process, currently through national-level European [cooperation], especially in Europe and the Balkans. (Continued on page 4)

Yesterday, at around 10:30 p.m., unknown persons threw a rudimentary bomb into the courtyard of the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Tirana. Fortunately, there were no casualties, although several windows were broken and the building sustained minor damage. This is a despicable terrorist act intended to damage the very good relations that exist between Albania and Cuba. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania expressed its regret to the Cuban Embassy and assured it that every effort would be made to identify those responsible and that protective measures would be taken to secure the embassy premises and its personnel. This ugly act cannot but anger and outrage our people, who see it as directly connected with the events of the day before yesterday outside the foreign embassies in the capital. (ATSH)