Rama: Support for Meidani’s constitutional steps PAGE 7

They are shameless in their deception and waste, and they are making a mockery of us They do not work; even when they do, they botch Corridor 8, lie about deadlines, and have neither workers nor equipment Meta, now drive them out of Albania By ERION BRAÇE and THANAS MUSTAQI | reports from the Vorë–Sukth, Kavajë–Rrogozhinë–Lushnje sections – PAGES 2–3

ISSUES / OF THE DAY We are entering a new economic level; everyone’s contribution is needed Following the Meta Government’s latest three-year economic package On Friday, the Meta Cabinet decided to raise Albanian workers’ wages by 10% each year, increase pensions, lower customs tariffs starting next year, encourage increased investment in the country through this and other measures, and create more jobs. This is one of the most important packages drawn up and approved by the Meta Cabinet. It not only demonstrates Prime Minister Meta’s ambitions, but is also the product of a sound and prudent financial policy pursued by the Meta Cabinet to date. The opposition, with its anti-national creed, will surely regard these measures as parallel-election deceptions. But this is not about Berisha’s promises that, if he ever came to power, he would make average wages 100 USD and average pensions 50 USD! What matters to all of us is that we are entering a new economic level, but preserving and advancing this level also requires our collective contribution. Only in this way will we help increase the funds available for our wages and pensions and create new room for our government to act. A close look at Albanian society shows that many Albanians still work uninsured, off the books, thereby depriving themselves of the right to a pension in the future, which is nothing other than a reflection of today’s work. At this point, the state must intervene forcefully through its mechanisms. It must impose extreme penalties on employers who use undeclared labor and fail to pay their financial obligations to the state; this is also a black hole in state finances that prevents decisions from being made for the people’s welfare. The time has now come to abandon excessive tax bureaucracy, which also encourages corruption, and simplify procedures so that people are encouraged to meet their obligations. If the relevant state agencies find workers who are uninsured, they must immediately shut down the thieving private businesses and impose extreme fines on them. Perhaps the time has also come for the state to divide Tirana and other cities into strictly defined zones, where establishments within each designated zone pay a fixed rate, instead of measuring premises, calculating meters, and so on. The world offers tax authorities plenty of examples of this kind. There is also obvious tax evasion in construction. Everyone in Tirana knows that a plot of land in the city center is bought for around 200–300 USD per square meter. Yet in the paperwork, in the sale-and-purchase contracts between owner and builder, the land costs 20–30 USD?! As a result, the state loses 200,000 USD in every such case, and losses like these happen every day. Can the tax authorities ignore this scandalous fact? Certainly not, if they want to do their job honestly! The state must not give in when a business complains that it will go bankrupt, because no business can be built on theft! The Meta Cabinet’s latest measure shows that, with a little care, we can have more money for wages and pensions and for investment in opening up new areas of employment. But all of us must be the first to report the thieves who have been leaving the state coffers empty for years while enriching themselves, leaving even their own princes in poverty!

After securing their first profits, farmers are now also thinking about their pensions PAGE 7

EUR.1, the document for duty-free exports to the EU PAGE 6

The lek reverses last week’s exchange-rate trend PAGE 6

The grand assembly in Lezhë against blood feuds Meidani: We must save the lives of 1,200 families caught up in blood feuds • Meidani: We must offer an alternative and the force of the law, as well as spiritual renewal and social, economic, civic and cultural development for the affected areas PAGE 16

The pyramid’s 57-million-lek brick

KQZ BERAT PD CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION They continue their fight against the CEC

• The first results of government policy are becoming visible in economic sectors • Government: changes only where needed, where work is not being done • The police operation in Laç is not over; all the bandits will be caught • The government will guarantee free and fair elections PAGE 4

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“Sarandopulos” in Durrës – Rrゴgozhinë and Ital-strada in Vorë–Sukth: This is how the EU is shamed in Albania

THE LEK

RESULTS