— How the Political Bureau’s decision to expand and strengthen the cooperative household plot was received — — The Party and Comrade Ramiz keep bringing us new, joyful news, — said Ismail Nikaçi, from Rashbull. — Every day, that Party has the people in its thoughts. There, some time ago it gave us cows, and now another joy: it has increased our household plot to as much as 2 dynym of land. When the Party thinks of us every day and works for us every day, what should we do? We should repay it many times over every day, because by working hard and united around it, we will move forward sooner and more securely. The new decision of the Political Bureau is the talk of the day everywhere in the cooperatives of the Durrës district. Listen to Avdi Gashi in Rashbull or Ahmet Bramuçe in Romanat, and you can see how their eyes light up with renewed optimism. You hear the elderly and the young; you hear everyone’s voice, all of them welcoming the Party’s new decision with such joy. Xhevdet Alibejsi, chairman of the people’s council of the united village of Rashbull, says that we will immediately take measures to implement this decision. “We have both plainland and hilly villages. In Maskuri and Romanat, which are hilly villages, there is also unused land and pasture, and we will allocate it to the cooperative members, in accordance with the decision. This will further increase production and welfare; this will further strengthen unity.” Everyone is pleased, from Ishëm to Spas, Lalëz and Rrogozhinë. The cooperative farmers’ joys are growing, and at the same time their commitment to implementation is growing too, because with greater effort at work they will fulfill all their duties. “By fulfilling our duties,” says Asllan Hoxha in Manëz, “we make our lives richer; by sweating more, we bring honor to ourselves and our country.” The decision of the Political Bureau was also welcomed with particular joy at the agricultural enterprises in the district. Isuf Muka, chairman of the trade unions at the Spitallë Agricultural Enterprise, tells us: “We met immediately and set urgent tasks to revive work in the fields. We decided to reduce expenses and increase production efficiency. We will also do a better job of producing beans, potatoes and vegetables to supply the people. We are paying particular attention to increasing yields, which are linked to the fodder base. To this end, we formed special brigades for fodder crops and small livestock units, which we did not have before. All the workers at the enterprise give one answer to the Political Bureau’s decision: we will step up the work force, so that our enterprise, in which the state has invested millions, will be in the vanguard.” SOTIRAQ GJORDENI Correspondent of “Zëri i popullit” At a time when more than a group of cooperative members—young men and women, elderly people and schoolchildren—were passing on to one another, with words from the heart more than mere words, the good news the Party had given them. Their joy is gratitude to the Party and to our beloved leader, Comrade Ramiz Alia, who have placed above all else the interests of our people and the improvement of their well-being. We stopped at the agricultural cooperative of Perondi. Liri Shurdha, a cooperative member, says: “When we were given one dynym of land for livestock, we said: ‘Long live the Party!’ But now, I won’t hide it: as I said, when we got the cow, we had a little concern, because our yard was planted with fruit trees, vegetables, and so on. So, for the cow, we were hoping that some piece of land would be freed up so we could arrange its feed. Knowing about this concern, the Party answered us immediately and relieved us of this worry too.” Shqetës Plaku says: “The Party knows our concerns, because it is our Party and we belong to it. Now every member of the family is busy working. At any time, our home will be full, whether with vegetables and fruit or with milk, meat, butter and cheese.” “There is not, and never will be, any truth in what some people think—that because a small part of its land has been taken from the cooperative, it will become weaker. Our cooperative will not fall apart,” says cooperative member Aneta Dule. “We have a good cooperative, and we will always have a good one. We will repay the kindness the Party has shown us with more work and greater achievements, because we know that our lives and our children’s lives are bound up with the cooperative. The yard, however large it may be, is supplementary. It helps us, but it also helps the state and the city, because we will take our surplus produce there.” “If until yesterday we had said that livestock farming would not cause damage, sometimes we were not entirely convinced; but now there is no reason for that to happen in the cooperative,” says another. There are many impressions from this day. At their heart is the people’s joy, a joy that springs from the Party’s constant care. Correspondent of “Zëri i popullit”

We ourselves hold the advantages of the new economic mechanism in our hands THIS HALF-YEAR CLOSES THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN The enterprise’s entry into the new economic mechanism during this half-year was preceded by the implementation of various economic instruments from the beginning of the year. Indeed, in order to sell products ourselves without incurring losses, independent transport was established as early as June, with 4 new vehicles purchased using the enterprise’s own foreign-currency funds—a matter that would have been very difficult to resolve under the traditional plan-based approach. But how have the workers been rewarded for this increased intensity of work? For the first half of the year, the average wage rose by 10.4 percent compared with the same period last year, and on this day everyone was also given an additional month’s salary as a bonus. This has created confidence that by the end of the year they will receive two more months’ salaries as well. Furthermore, about 100 available workers, out of our 6,000 workers, have been placed in jobs at our enterprise. In other words, we keep a workforce above plan while achieving the work-productivity target. Meanwhile, for the whole summer season, 87 workers’ children are spending their holidays at the camp on the shores of Lake Shkodër, at the enterprise’s expense. These measures have increased the employees’ interest in producing more so that they themselves can also benefit more. The second half of the year sets us growing tasks that must be accomplished under extraordinary conditions. Therefore, we believe we are entitled to remind others of our needs, too. For example, when we make greater use of the export enterprise, we provide the main share of the overfulfillment—around 100 million lekë. We have mobilized to work under extraordinary conditions to exceed our targets, so foreign-trade enterprises should not work merely to meet their usual obligations toward us. This is also required by the new economic mechanism we are implementing. PAULIN RADOVANI Director of the tobacco-cigarette factory, Shkodër

KORÇË No one told the residents of the lower neighborhood of Mborje, after the television news, to gather in the square. No, no announcement was made. And yet everyone felt that they absolutely had to come out to the place where people were meeting to talk about matters here in the village, as well as events elsewhere... No. Our Party is broad-minded and looks far ahead. What am I saying? With this decision, better conditions are being created to strengthen our household plot even further. Naturally, after this we will have more good things and more produce; the goods available for the market, for the townspeople, will also increase. And just as Nustrësi voiced his opinion, others spoke too. The chairman of the Moglicë cooperative, Agim Kulla, warmly described to us this spontaneous gathering that took place last night right there in the village square. It was, he tells us, the moment when the cooperative members’ livestock were coming down from the pasture, since this is how we graze them here in the village. The open discussion there in the square, the chairman tells us, continued in the homes as well. In our cooperative, the cooperative household plot thrives like a garden...

— A report from Kruja — Supply shortages at the Laç chemical-metallurgical combine alone, from January 1 until now, amount to a deficit of more than 17,000 tons of ore and 555 tons of blister copper, which the copper smelter in Kueks was supposed to send to Laç. This shortage caused the following deficits at the combine: more than 1,200 tons of anode copper, nearly 300 tons of blister copper, more than 200 tons of acid from factory No. 1 (due to a shortage of pyrite), 5,000 tons of acid from factory No. 2 (due to a shortage of acid), etc. We have given many figures, but only this way can the full picture emerge: the combine in question is in difficulty. The total deficit in lekë exceeds 36 million, not counting the deficits caused in other sectors and branches of the economy by the lack of products from the Laç Combine. But what do these comrades say? None of the mine managers is willing not only to make up the deficit from the first half of the year (naturally, nor does anyone promise to do so), but even to meet the state plan targets for the second half of the year. The sole alternative put forward by some ministry officials was: either the state plans should be lowered, or one of the copper smelters should be shut down. And the proposed option is the Laç Combine! What a fine solution (?) This would be extremely damaging to the economy and to the workers whose jobs are connected with this branch. To accept such conclusions is, frankly, to say, “We cannot solve the problems that depend on us,” and to capitulate in advan- (Continued on page 2) From January 1 until now, supply shortages at the Laç chemical-metallurgical combine alone have amounted to a deficit of more than 17,000 tons of ore and 555 tons of blister copper, which the copper smelter in Kueks was supposed to send to Laç. This shortage caused the following deficits at the combine: more than 1,200 tons of anode copper, nearly 300 tons of blister copper, more than 200 tons of acid from factory No. 1 (due to a shortage of pyrite), 5,000 tons of acid from factory No. 2 (due to a shortage of acid), etc. We have given many figures, but only this way can the full picture emerge: the combine in question is in difficulty. The total deficit in lekë exceeds 36 million, not counting the deficits caused in other sectors and branches of the economy by the lack of products from the Laç Combine. But what do these comrades say? None of the mine managers is willing not only to make up the deficit from the first half of the year (naturally, nor does anyone promise to do so), but even to meet the state plan targets for the second half of the year. The sole alternative put forward by some ministry officials was: either the state plans should be lowered, or one of the copper smelters should be shut down. And the proposed option is the Laç Combine! What a fine solution (?) This would be extremely damaging to the economy and to the workers whose jobs are connected with this branch. To accept such conclusions is, frankly, to say, “We cannot solve the problems that depend on us,” and to capitulate in advan- (Continued on page 2) For 6 hours straight, a few days ago in Rrëshen, we followed a discussion of this issue between two directorates: the mining directorate and the metallurgy directorate of the Ministry of Industry and Mines.

- VLORE - Vlora has successfully passed its first “test” of the year with wheat. The target was exceeded by 3,500 kv. But in a conversation with the district’s chief agricultural specialist, Izet Rexho tells us that the pressing concern of the day is work on maize, so that this crop too can reach the target of 55 kv per hectare, which is entirely achievable, since the same yield was attained last year. But what is the condition of this crop? In the lowland area, in Novoselë, Risili, Lakatund, Dukat, Tragjas and elsewhere, more attention is being paid and more work is being done on maize. The same is not happening in Trevëllazër, Kuç, Vranisht, etc., where the state of the crops is worrying. What is holding things back? Alongside some difficulties of the season or possible disruptions in irrigation work, there are shortcomings in the organization and management of the work,

The Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, Comrade Ramiz Alia, sent the following congratulatory telegram to the President of the Republic of Peru, Alberto Fujimori: “On the occasion of Peru’s national holiday, on behalf of the Albanian people, the Presidium of the People’s Assembly and myself, I send you, and through you the friendly Peruvian people, warm greetings and sincere wishes for their happiness and for the progress of their country.” (ATSH)

For two mornings at the Military Academy, the ceremony for awarding diplomas to the officers who completed their studies at the academy in the 1989–1990 academic year was held. Officials from the Minis- (Continued on page 3)

— Report from Saranda — Saranda, with its natural beauty, compels you to travel in your imagination across Athens and beyond, and to sit in the most beautiful places: on the Otova coast, on the ridge of Valbona, along the shores of Lake Pogradec and in the cold waters of Vlora, visiting Sazan; at the marvelous lakes of Lura and in the shade of the pines of Voskopojë. Before your eyes, boats sail on Lake Prespa, or you seem to feel the freshness coming from the mountains as you stand high aboard the ferry guided by the people of Kukës on the way to Bajram Curri. With Niko Mëllillin, director of the marine fishing enterprise in Saranda, we talk about the “troubles” of this craft, so closely connected with supplying the people and with the possibility, in the future, of traveling by sea from the South all the way to Shkodër. Saranda, with its natural beauty, compels you to travel in your imagination across Athens and beyond, and to sit in the most beautiful places: on the Otova coast, on the ridge of Valbona, along the shores of Lake Pogradec and in the cold waters of Vlora, visiting Sazan; at the marvelous lakes of Lura and in the shade of the pines of Voskopojë. Before your eyes, boats sail on Lake Prespa, or you seem to feel the freshness coming from the mountains as you stand high aboard the ferry guided by the people of Kukës on the way to Bajram Curri. With Niko Mëllilli, director of the marine fishing enterprise in Saranda, we talk about the “troubles” of this craft, so closely connected with supplying the people and with the possibility, in the future, of traveling by sea from the South all the way to Shkodër. — From the sea, — says Niko, — the coast looks even more magnificent, especially the Riviera. We recall that several years ago this task was added to the responsibilities of the Ministry of Transport, but some things have remained on paper, even though we all know that the engineers and innovators of the maritime port in Durrës are highly skilled and could meet such a demand. As you reflect on the sea and how its “bounty” might be put to better use, you cannot help stopping in Lukovë and Borsh, or at the plantation of olives, oranges and lemons in famous Ksamil, embroidered by the hands and minds of our wonderful youth, who sprang into action in response to the tasks set out in Comrade Enver Hoxha’s call. Ednion GJoka, director of the enterprise for fish cultivation and catching, explains how more mussels could be farmed in Butrint and, consequently, foreign-currency earnings from their export increased. Spiro Lluçi, a son of Delvinë, renowned for his patriotic spirit, explains how the specialists and workers of the food complex in Qukë can increase exports further. Everywhere, suggestions emerge for work and for making better use of the people’s untapped potential. “Long live work, long live honor,” Thoma Dolaradha tells us. With eyes full of cheer and kindness, and with his sweet words about guests and work, he makes you feel astonished. “Could this fellow be thirty years old and already drawing a pension?” All the more so because Tho- (Continued on page 3)

Moglicë, no announcement was made. And yet everyone felt they absolutely had to go out to the place where people gather to talk both about the village’s problems and about the news concerning the earthquake. They spoke passionately about the newly announced decision of the Political Bureau. Gëzim Kulla, a father of three boys and a cooperative member; Shpëtim Beqiraj, chairman of the village people’s council; Saltiana Kulla, and others. “See, that’s how it is, comrades,” Nusret Doda told the others as they talked. “The Party never separates its concerns from ours. After taking its first decision, it did not rest easy or say, ‘Now we can rest easy with Isha-’”

—tion. In the plots near the houses, you find vegetables, fodder crops, fruit and onions, which they grow for the market and for export. With the expansion of the area, conditions will be created for increasing production and for keeping their own cows as well as the small livestock our residents have. Today the residents of our villages not only meet their own needs for milk, but also sell its products at the market. And who does not like the butter and fragrant cheese of Moglicë? The decision increased not only their joy but also their enthusiasm. As cooperative chairman, I am fully convinced that from now on every cooperative member will contribute more to fulfilling the tasks of the farm. KOSTAQ DUKA Correspondent of “Zëri i popullit”

farm.

At work on the milk-processing line of the food enterprise, Skrapar. (Photo: N. Xhufka)