FACING OUR TASKS, FACING OUR COMMITMENTS

LUSHNJE Self-satisfied with the plan overall — 5.8 million lekë more in production and 58 percent fulfillment of the targets. — For the seven-month period, total industrial production reached 102.3 percent, or 5.8 million lekë more than the target. The collection enterprise, the meat-and-dairy enterprise, the fishing enterprise, the food-processing enterprise, and others completed the tasks for this period ahead of schedule, laying a good foundation for the future. Looking at the indicators, one might think everything is in order and there are no problems. In fact, there are problems. At district level, the targets for the period in question were achieved at 53 percent. This is an increase compared with the first six months. But at the current pace, no noticeable change is expected. The enterprise managers say that “we fulfilled our tasks across the board, overcoming the difficulties with our own resources.” Fine. Why, then, are the individual targets not being met? It seems that their self-satisfaction has kept them from looking further ahead. Of the food enterprise’s 17 targets, it has not achieved 7; plastic production, too, has in some cases caused concern. An impenetrable wall has been created above all by the bureaucratic logic and thinking of certain managers or specialists, who attach greater importance to fulfilling the tasks overall, without analyzing them in every sector of the enterprise’s activity. They forget that the targets are plan obligations and have economic significance. People need all kinds of products, and the market feels their absence. Difficulties are not easily overcome, nor by complaining alone. Experience has shown that when firm insistence is placed on meeting each individual target, there are noticeable improvements. Otherwise, the overall picture swallows up millions. The operational sections of the district People’s Council executive committee must follow the progress of the schedules every day and work to resolve the difficulties. Resolving problems in time ensures production and better supplies for the people. The calculations for this must be …frontally, overcoming the difficulties with our own forces. Good. Why are the shortfalls in the individual items not being overcome? It seems that complacency has kept them from looking any further. Of the enterprise’s 17 items, it has failed to meet targets for 7; of the 11 planned plastics items, 5 have fallen short. The brick factory is also performing poorly. It has failed to meet targets for 6 of its 12 items in total. The material base is not the only obstacle,

LIBRAZHD Steady work These days we went and met the director of the iron-nickel mine, engineer Hamit Çota. He told us about the achievements of each day—not only in July, but in every month and year of the five-year plan—in the Skroskë, Përrenjas, Bushtricë and Xixillas sectors. He also spoke about July’s achievements, when the targets were surpassed by a considerable margin. In June, the monthly targets for iron-nickel were not met. For the seven-month period, they were exceeded by 8,500 tons of iron-nickel, with savings of 1 million 200 thousand kWh of electricity. In July, about 5,000 tons of iron-nickel were produced above the target, saving around 400 thousand kWh of electricity. The export target for the month was fulfilled at 150 percent. There have been no complaints about quantity or quality, either from the metallurgical combine in Elbasan or from the export market. The workers are the first to feel the effects of July’s overfulfillment in production and savings. The Skroskë sector stands out; for some time now it has been working toward the next five-year plan. The head of this sector, Shaqo Ozuni, tells us that by the end of the year he expects them to deliver more than 70 thousand tons of iron-nickel above the five-year quotas. For 4 years and 6

The chromium mining industry, aided by mineral exploration and discovery, has led to an increase in the number of “Bulqizas” in Dibër. The “punishing” and “underground” town is awakening; Tërnova, Livadhi i Dashit, Selishta, Qafa e Lame, Ramna, the deposits of Klos and Bulqizë are entering the vocabulary of chromium geography. Geologists now speak of a “new Bulqizë,” of a different kind of “chromium” that is just as economically valuable as the old chromium, and even more so. They are referring to non-metallic minerals. You do not have to be a geologist to understand that the gypsum massif extending from Bellova to Vranjet and as far as Radomirë in Kali i Dodës, along a route of around 40 km, represents great wealth. Nearly two decades ago, a dentist with a broad education and an innovative spirit undertook to produce plaster with a simple mill. Its quality met technical requirements for use not only in construction and art, but also in dentistry. Using this plaster, the construction enterprise made panels with which it covered the interior sections of an apartment building, replacing plastering. The experiment was accompanied by a study and concrete proposals for setting up a processing line. The study disappeared somewhere in the ministry’s drawers, just as interest in producing this important construction material gradually faded. Today, in Dibër it is difficult to find even “a handful” of plaster for puttying while painting. This happens because it costs little and bringing it from Vlora “eats up” the entire transport quota (if it does not leave you in debt as well). Geologists back this activity with reserves that will last for centuries. Users welcome its high quality. Young specialists argue that white cement and colored cement can also be produced. The economy needs them. Geologists value the gypsum of the eastern mountain ranges of Dibër on a par with chromium (quietly, they say even more highly): “Low expenses, small investments, more revenue than with chromium,” they conclude in their studies. Their assessment is not limited to plaster, but focuses especially on alabaster and compact anhydrite gypsum, which is very hard yet easy to cut and is of the highest quality at “Ura e Drue” in Radomirë. The Ministry of Foreign Trade should listen to the specialists’ facts, see the level of demand in world markets, and pave the way for developing this rich branch of our resources. Export opportunities in the resource-rich terrain of Dibër do not end with chromium in Bulqizë. Dibër’s red marble has been part of economic circulation as an export block for three decades. For the expansion of this activ- (Continued on page 2)

ON THE EVE OF THE INAUGURATION These days, a new tile factory is nearing completion at the “Josif Pashko” construction materials combine in the capital. As Genc Ajazi, an investment directorate specialist at the Ministry of Construction, told us, this factory, ordered from abroad, cost around 200 thousand dollars and is capable of producing about 150 thousand square meters of tiles a year, thereby doubling their production in our country. The factory will begin partial production at the beginning of September and will meet, to a considerable extent, the demand for tiles now coming from the economy and the citizens. It will produce three or four types of tile in different sizes, made of terrazzo aggregate and cement. “This will not be the only factory of its kind,” Vukë Zaloshnja, director of the specialized directorates at this ministry, tells us. “It is planned to build another new production line that will make six-sided gres tiles in different sizes and colors to decorate our homes and interiors as well.” Speaking with Mihallaq Goga, foreman of the installation brigade at the “Josif Pashko” construction materials combine, he explained that this factory is almost completely automated. Using entirely domestic raw materials, it will produce cement and terrazzo-aggregate tiles, the latter in different colors and configurations. So far, the tests with air and technological water have been successful, and we are confident that in the first days of September we will be able to conduct the first load tests. From what we have seen so far, this tile is distinguished by its high quality; the tiles are durable, have an attractive shine and, with the technology available at this factory, the workers’ workload is visibly reduced. VIRON GJYMSHANA

A day at this peak point of summer in Durrës is on an extraordinary scale. Everything is multiplied. The train whistles, the bus horns, the supply vehicles, and so on. It seems they are competing. Trains from Vlora, Pogradec, [text unclear]—these days the crowd is equal to three large cities together. You pass through the beautiful, well-kept areas maintained by the municipal beach enterprise and come out onto the sand. People and movement without end. The colorful chains of beach umbrellas stretch endlessly. Finding your own umbrella among those of your friends, no matter how accurately you know the location, is impossible. This great movement on the beach goes on all day. Then afternoon comes. There are dozens of activities; guests here include professional variety troupes from many districts of the country and the Tirana circus. Almost all the cultural centers are putting on shows, led by the district’s professional variety troupe, which never stops performing. All this makes people arrive happy and leave even happier, with the loveliest memories of the sea’s hospitality. But could things be better? Of course. The people of Durrës are aware of this too. Don’t holidaymakers ask for more boats so they can enjoy the wonderful sport of canoeing, instead of having to wait in line to get one? Should hotels still be undergoing repairs at the height of the season? “Have the means been made available now?” someone asks. Does that justify it? Should you have to get up and walk a long way just to buy an orangeade, and in many cases find that there is no ice? These and other shortcomings, of course, do not dim the lovely colors that Durrës and its people have brought to the beach. Nevertheless, there is room to make this landscape even more attractive and memorable. It is the duty of the beach enterprise and the trade authorities to act more promptly in resolving the many problems, to better meet holidaymakers’ wishes, to make their holiday as active as possible, and to ensure that Durrës beach remains unforgettable in their memories. FATOS KULLA

. Anyone entering the city of Përmet for the first time is surprised: there is a beach here too! The city of flowers and roses is bustling all day long. The joy of arriving at work is also enhanced by cultured recreation and relaxation. Both banks of the Vjosa River, from Këlcyr Kazani to Guri Ados, are packed with people. During these hot days, parents and children, students and school pupils spend their regular holidays and day trips here. Vaskë Logo, a teacher, can be found there every day during the school summer holidays, with his friends. In conversation with them, they also have some complaints about the commercial services, which do not provide refreshing drinks and fruit every day, although holidaymakers ask for them. The most popular and frequently visited spot is Bënja, which also serves as a health-treatment center. In front of the executive committee, we find Pano Jani, a pensioner, with some other friends; he complains that the beach is not properly served by the bus line for transporting and picking up holidaymakers. These days, visitor numbers have increased, with students and school pupils also arriving from other districts, preparing to begin the new school year with renewed energy. So, even in a place like Përmet, where there is no sea, there is no shortage of opportunities to set up “beaches” on the banks of the blue Vjosa. There are also suitable conditions for organizing camps beneath the forests of Hotovë, in Frashër, near the thermal waters of Banja, at the tourist spot in Kelcyrë, and elsewhere. All that is needed is some investment in commercial and transport services, or in organizing “Rinia” tourist groups. PERPARIM MUSTAFAJ

VLORË Concrete indicators assess everyone’s work — More than 30 collectives in the district of Vlorë have fulfilled their seven-month targets ahead of schedule. — With the exception of the maritime fishing enterprise, all the collectives in the food-industry system produced nearly 7 million lekë worth of goods above the seven-month plan. There is one concern here: it is essential to coordinate the “internal” factors with the “external” ones, because whenever the ships are ready, fuel is missing; when the fuel arrives, the fishing season is disrupted, and so on. The enterprise is often said to be failing to meet its plan. Does this not also call for more direct support from the economic authorities and the relevant section? The technical and organizational measures taken by the “owners” of the ships themselves are decisive, but support from the Fisheries Directorate at the ministry and from the shipyard in Durrës has not always been complete or timely. There is no end to the need for arbitration when production targets are not met. The measures taken by the managers of this enterprise regarding workers’ pay according to their job category, which benefited 54 workers by a total of 20,600 lekë, have greatly increased work mobilization. But if oil supplies continue to arrive intermittently, says the enterprise’s director, Lulëzim Xhelo, the enterprise will be placed under great financial strain. Therefore, the relevant section of the district executive committee must ensure a more proportional distribution of fuel. Ultimately, the fishing enterprise must first be provided with the fuel needed to meet its plan, and only then should it also be required to meet its fish-catch target. In this system’s enterprises, as in the others, accountability demanded by managers, cadres and production specialists, as well as the daily monitoring of tasks by the relevant sections of the executive committee, has yielded results. In the four enterprises that have begun implementing the new economic mechanism, more comprehensive technical and organizational measures, technological improvements and the timely sale of commodity production have placed their collectives at the forefront of the district. The collective of the milk-collection and processing enterprise has exceeded its targets by the largest margin within the food system. But where were the opportunities and reserves found? First, bringing processing centers closer to the raw materials, as well as making full use of existing processing capacity, secured nearly 5 million lekë in additional production, says chief engineer Petraq Karaj. The implementation of the new economic mechanism is also bearing fruit in the increased responsibility of every production unit. There have also been achievements at the tannin factory, the salt-production enterprise, the lamp factory, the canning combine, and the enterprises in the municipal-services system, where the repair and maintenance services stand out for meeting their targets steadily. But things are not going so well at the soda-PVC plant, the wood-processing enterprise, the cement factory, the construction enterprise and the oil-extraction enterprise, where targets have not been met and standards have been exceeded. Poor indicators also weigh on the others. We often hear that this or that measure is being taken in these collectives, that production is being reorganized and redistributed, and that targets will be met this or that month, but the measures taken are not producing the necessary results. The indicators speak most clearly, especially now, when only five months remain before the five-year plan ends. And while things are turning out this way, mobilization and oversight, stronger discipline and a controlled workload for everyone are essential. VL L A SI COMO

; it will give a Balkan tour as part of the Festival of the South. (ATSH)

The delegation of the General Union of the Wood and Construction Industry of Egypt left our country. It was headed by the union’s deputy chairman, Mohamed Naser, and had made a friendly visit to Albania at the invitation of the General Council of BPSH. (ATSH)

Velipoja has become a very popular destination for holidaymakers, many from Shkodra and others arriving from different districts of the country. Its refreshing coastline and the area’s excellent climate, along with the woodland planted by human hands over the years, invite visitors. The forests contain many different trees, including fir, pine, elm, willow, acacia and poplar, which make the surroundings very cool in the evening. During the day, holidaymakers enjoy the dense shade. Various amateur anglers go fishing at Vilu, where the lagoon flows into the sea. There are tasty fish of many different kinds there. The trade sector has taken all the necessary measures to supply its food outlets, fruit and vegetable shops, and other outlets with the goods holidaymakers need. There are still some things that could be better organized. For example, here and there one still sees outdated practices that should be abandoned; because of carelessness, refreshing-drink stands are missing, or queues form for borsalino. Although supplies are abundant, more still needs to be done. Alongside these amenities, various games are organized here for children and even adults, helping holidaymakers improve their physical fitness. There is a very good playground for children. Every evening, many people gather there near the playground, including adults, and various variety-show groups; artistic events are also held, with groups such as the city variety troupe giving several performances for holidaymakers. Different films are shown as well. RIFAT DAJTI correspondent of “Zëri i popullit”

The beach at Dhërmi also attracts many holidaymakers. (Photo: N. Xhufka)