A highly sensitized public is eagerly awaiting every democratizing change. The economy is the central theme of this process. The question now becomes an intriguing one: Will the economy move forward? In a sense, we all hold the answer in our hands: implementing the reform we are undertaking requires work. There are indeed effective economic models in the world, with elements we have adopted. But the necessary conditions are by no means ready-made. Our maturity in this major step will be measured by how much thought we give it and how earnestly we apply ourselves to work. Economic reform has reached every enterprise and work collective. A new “tree” is just taking root and, naturally, the first feeling is one of concern, strain, and even slowed growth as it acclimatizes. Whether criticism is constructive depends on how much we support it with order and discipline, and then with assistance and cre-. Is it perfect? Let us improve it not out of spite, but thoughtfully. How many enterprises are paralyzed if they are not supplied with coal? How many difficulties does disorganization in transport cause citizens and the economy? Let us not forget that we ourselves—and no one else—pay the price for a chain reaction. The budget remains an empty temple, a financial expression without roots in warehouses full of products. Wisdom lies in seeing problems realistically, being clear and determined in resolving the situations that arise, and not acting on passions to profit at one another’s expense. What use are words if we do not understand that the rule of law begins in the enterprise, with productivity and discipline? Let us accompany the “diploma” of democracy with the “diploma” of work. An economy cannot be built overnight like a political program. Words do not smash bureaucracy; they feed its mill. By not working, we revolt against ourselves and fucmi into a dead end. In tourism or industry, at airports or on highways, in joint enterprises and those with foreign capital, it is we who will work. Let us therefore build confidence, which cooperation with the outside world needs so much, and increase the value of our greatest investment: work. Only in this way will our legitimate apotheosis of “towards Europe” not remain an optical illusion, but become reality, step by step. Year after year, the city of Fier has grown and become more beautiful. Many social facilities have also been built there. IN THE PHOTO: A view of a café recently opened in this city. (Photo: N. Xhufka) mine, as well as the measures taken by the Council of Ministers at its special meeting on this problem, which cannot be considered separately from the difficult economic situation we are going through. On behalf of the government, he stressed, I ask that, through dialogue, we exchange views and reach realistic conclusions for resolving this problem, which concerns not only the miners but the entire population. Work stoppages have caused concern and additional difficulties in overcoming the critical situation in the economy. In Valias in particular, at any moment there is a risk that the lava flows will collapse, which would cause the mine to cave in. The miners’ rejection of the solutions offered by the government group is causing economic destabilization, which will have an impact nationwide and may be followed by social tensions and political destabilization. Therefore, I ask—

Year after year, the city of Fier has grown and become more beautiful. Many social facilities have also been built there. IN THE PHOTO: A view of a café recently opened in this city. (Photo: N. Xhufka)

Yesterday, January 15, 1991, the Council of Ministers examined, at a special meeting, the situation that had arisen at the Valias mine, in close connection with the situation facing the economy as a whole. It noted that the economic situation had worsened as a result of the continued marked instances of breaches of discipline and legal regulations in many enterprises and sectors that are vital to the normal functioning of the economy. It was stressed that this critical situation can be overcome only through the full and serious commitment of the entire workforce and state bodies, both locally and centrally, to fulfil, at all costs, production and public-service tasks. The Council of Ministers considers that the way to resolve many accumulated problems concerning the level of services and employees’ working and living conditions, especially in key sectors for production and public supply, is not through work stoppages and ultimatum-like demands for rushed, partial solutions unsupported by economic grounds, but through the concrete commitment of all employees to produce and create the necessary material, financial and foreign-currency resources, on the basis of the powerful incentives offered by the implementation of economic reform and the strengthening of cooperative ties with foreign capital. The Council of Ministers heard and approved the report and work carried out by the government group appointed to address the demands of the Valias miners and improve conditions at this mine, which is important for the normal life of the capital. On this basis, it adopted the following measures: 1. It approved the relevant decision on allowances deemed more appropriate to the current economic situation, concerning the wages of all mine employees working underground and on the surface, and of employees in geological exploration. These wage supplements range from 30 to 50 percent, or from 300 to 360 lek per month. 2. The increase of 175 million lek in the annual wage fund resulting from these changes will be reflected in the financial results of these enterprises and will be covered by budget subsidies for loss-making enterprises, while other enterprises will cover it from additional revenues they themselves generate, on the basis of the effectiveness of the new wages. 3. For mechanics, electricians and employees in other auxiliary occupations in mining and geology who work under the same conditions as miners, the retirement age has been lowered to 50. In addition, all mining and geology employees who return to their families each night will receive free urban transport between their place of residence and workplace, in both directions. The Executive Committee of the Tirana District People’s Council was tasked with allocating 168 residential apartments to the Valias mine from the housing stock planned for 1991. 4. Under the existing circumstances, any demand for further immediate wage increases in the economic and cultural sectors is beyond the state’s economic capacity and would have inflationary consequences, directly affecting the people’s standard of living. These matters will therefore be resolved only within the framework of the comprehensive review already begun by the special state commission tasked with revising the entire price and wage system. The Council of Ministers instructed this commission to shorten the deadline for submitting its study. 5. To normalize the situation at the Valias mine, the Council of Ministers tasked the government group established for this purpose with continuing its dialogue with the employees who have stopped work and explaining to them that the above measures and the resumption of work are the only possible solution in the interests of the economy and the employees themselves. Resuming work is particularly essential to normalize conditions in the other enterprises and institutions of the capital, which are awaiting their contracted coal supplies from this mine, especially nurseries, kindergartens, hospitals, canteens, etc. The Council of Ministers considered that continuing the work stoppage, when the measures taken do not justify it under the circumstances, would cause serious economic and ekollomike damage, which would in practice lead to further deterioration and the termination of the employees’ relationship with the enterprise. In that case, the fulfilment of this state enterprise’s obligation to pay employees 80 percent of their wages under legal provisions would not be justified. The Council of Ministers calls on the mine employees, in cooperation with the government group, to commit themselves to finding and implementing the most effective way of managing the mine, in accordance with the requirements and rights granted to them by law and the new economic mechanism. 6. The Council of Ministers calls on all parties and other political and social organizations to engage and contribute to stabilizing the economic and social situation. For this purpose, the government group consisting of comrades Besnik Bektashi, Bujar Kolaneci and Qemal Disha was tasked with making contact and holding dialogue with representatives of all political parties recognized by law, as well as representatives of the Trade Unions, the Democratic Front, the Youth organizations, etc., in order to support a realistic resolution of the problems that the measures adopted seek to achieve. The Council of Ministers calls on the miners and all the country’s workers to assess correctly the difficult economic situation that has arisen and to commit themselves with a strong sense of civic responsibility to fulfilling the specific tasks each has for developing the economy, as an essential condition for the uninterrupted continuation of the democratization process in every aspect of the country’s life and for strengthening cooperative ties with the world. (ATSH)

The government group formed to resolve the situation that has arisen at the Valias mine held separate meetings yesterday with representatives of political parties and social organizations. The head of this group, the Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, Besnik Bektashi, informed the representatives of the three [?] about the need for commitment and consensus among all political forces to reassure people about realistic ways of resolving the problems. The representative of the Labour Party of Albania, Abdyl Backa, said, among other things, that after becoming acquainted with the miners’ demands and with the issuing of the communiqué of the mee-[?] other employees that the Council of Ministers’ decision is appropriate and that uncontrolled wage increases fuel inflation. The representative of the Republican Party, Gafur Muça, declared, among other things, that we must all do more to persuade the wor-[?] following today’s government meeting, calls on the employees of the Valias mine to contribute to normalizing the situation that has arisen, acting in unity and through work, as decisive factors in the current situation. Let us not forget, he stressed, that the nurseries, kindergartens, hospitals and our families are waiting for this coal, and that rushed economic solutions cannot be demanded at the expense of the interests of other employees, consumers and the people as a whole. Any wage increase unsupported by production will lead to higher prices and inflation beyond any ... The representative of the Initiating Commission for the creation of the Democratic Party, Gramoz Pashko, after thanking the government for the recognition it had expressed of this party’s potential contribution to resolving the problem, said, among other things, that we do not seek to destabilize the situation; therefore, we will try to explain to the miners and the Republican Party, Gafur Muça, stated, persuade workers not to shut down their own workplace. Through our activists, we will make it clear to the miners that under these conditions the state has nothing more to give; with their demands they have crossed over from democracy to anarхи. The representative of the Ecological Party, Namik Hoti, said, among other things, that agreement-making is part of the Albanian people’s tradition. We support dialogue between the government and workers, as is being done. We must go and persuade the miners to end the work stoppage, while singling out those who incited it. We call on all parties to work toward resolving this matter. The participants in the talks welcomed the government’s realistic position that similar demands that have been raised or may arise cannot be resolved immediately and must be considered as a whole by the Government Commission for a comprehensive review of the price and wage system. (ATSH)

INTERVIEW OF THE DAY As has been reported, talks have been under way for some time with foreign companies about jointly exploring for and developing our oil, offshore and onshore, as well as increasing production from existing oil wells. To find out how far the talks have progressed and whether any concrete agreement has been signed, our editor VIRON GJYMSHANA spoke with BEJO SJEDINI, director of the Oil Directorate at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy— When did you begin preparations and the first talks with foreign companies for this purpose? —1987 was the first year in which we began working concretely to enter into agreements with foreign companies. We started by familiarizing ourselves with international practice in this field. That same year, the first talks with foreign partners also began, with the aim of starting joint oil extraction in the first year of the new five-year plan—that is, this year. —Previous laws seemed to stand in the way of an undertaking of this kind. Was that the case for you? —I want to emphasize that the previous constitution did not hinder us in this regard. In 1987, a joint working group was set up to explore the objective, made up of employees from the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the State Bank and the Ministry of Energy. A production-sharing contract with foreign companies was drafted; it was suitable for operating under those conditions and was acceptable to the foreign companies, while also fully respecting our legislation. —Now that decrees protecting foreign investment in Albania have been issued, along with the relevant acts adopted by the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance, what advantages have been created for you? —I will give a concrete example. On October 21–24 of last year, a symposium on the state of legislation governing joint oil exploration and development in the countries of Eastern Europe was held in Geneva, Switzerland. The general conclusion was that our legislation was the most advanced. Of course, I am not saying it is perfect, but it is structured in such a way that it creates all the necessary facilities for interested foreign companies. In Eastern European countries, for example, oil companies have been submitting requests to their parliaments to amend their legislation for more than three years, and these have still not been approved. —Then let us return to the main question. What have you concretely achieved with foreign companies? Are you still in talks, or have you concluded concrete agreements? —We are the first country to have signed a contract with a Western company for joint oil extraction offshore and onshore. We signed it on November 22 of last year with the West German company «Demineks» and the Austrian «OMV», at a time when Eastern countries are very interested and are seeking to become more mature and attract foreign investment to their countries. On January 12 of this year, we signed the second contract of this type with the well-known American company «Occidental Petroleum Korporation». —Our readers would like to know what these companies represent today in the world oil business. —«Demineks» is a publicly held company whose shareholders include some of the most powerful representatives of the German chemical, metallurgical and other industries. OMV (the partner of «Demineks» in its contract with us) is an Austrian state-owned company with scientific capabilities in oil exploration, discovery and extraction that are renowned worldwide. «Demineks» is currently operating successfully in oil extraction in the North Sea, Egypt and Libya. As for the American company «Occidental», it is a private company, very ... (Continued on page 2)

On 14 January 1991, at around 10:00, at the Bulqizë mine, on the seventh level, gallery no. 13, as a result of the collapse of the gallery face, the gallery-concreting workers Luan Elez Dema, from the village of Hoxhaj, born in 1938, married with 7 children, employed at the mine since 5 March 1983, and Ali Danga, from the village of Zerqan, born in 1967, employed at the mine since 15 January 1990, lost their lives while at work. An investigative team went to the scene. The district authorities and the mine directorate have taken measures to assist the victims’ families. (ATSH)

The miners and chromite-ore processors at the Kalimash mine in the district of Kukës, who had been working under the new economic mechanism since July of last year, got off to a good start this year and are distinguishing themselves by meeting their targets every day. During the first 10 days of January, the targets set for the production of chromite ore, olivine, and concentrate were met in full. (According to ATSH)

Question: Today at 13:30 the Council of Ministers concluded its meeting, at which it analyzed the situation that had arisen at the Valias mine. Based on the reports made by the government commission, the Council of Ministers also adopted the relevant decisions for this purpose. Comrade Besnik, what exactly are these decisions? Answer: It should be said from the outset that the Council of Ministers, through its enlarged presidium and through the government group it established, has continuously followed the problems at Valias. Meanwhile, the government group, acting on the guidance of the Council of Ministers and following the path of dialogue and discussion with the miners, worked together with them from the morning until late in the evening. At the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the government group reported on the situation there. The Council of Ministers then adopted a very important decision which, in view of the economic situation in our country, requires us to give a few concise figures: for the underground categories of mine workers, the initial decision of 300 new lekë for each underground worker has now risen to 320, 330, 350, and 360 lekë, or, in round figures, an average increase of around 40 percent for underground workers. If we look at this across the economy, the government’s decision applies not only to the Valias Mine but to all the mines in our country; for underground and surface workers, it amounts to a total wage fund of 175 million lekë for employees in this system. I emphasized, deliberately, that this decision was taken on the basis of our country’s economic situation. It should also be said that this decision assumes that this wage fund will be provided without an increase in production. This must be understood correctly, especially in Valias, which is an enterprise operating at a loss. That is, in 1991 we had budgeted 22 million lekë from the state budget to cover Valias’s losses. With the new decision to increase wages, this loss rises to nearly 35 million lekë, so the cost to the economy increases. This money has to be found by other areas of work and production. It should also be said that another way to increase the incomes of underground and surface workers throughout the mines is through the economic mechanism—that is, by increasing production. This is another way, another source, for these workers to increase their incomes. It should also be emphasized that for Valias, in order to increase their incomes, an important decision has been made concerning the electromechanical sector, whose employees work underground. Their average retirement age has now been brought into line with that of the miners themselves. Thus, whereas this category of employees previously retired at the age of 55, they will now retire at 50. This is a very important decision concerning the improvement of working conditions and the workers’ demands. (Continued on page 2) ... of the journalists, and the visas were ... to open a road ... earlier receiv... of the countries ... to strengthen further ... [the text at the left edge is partially cut off and illegible]

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