Prime Minister Edi Rama was in Lac today to showcase the start of the construction of homes for those impacted by the 26 November earthquake.
During his speech, he said that Lac is divided into two areas; one where apartments are being built with funds from the Turkish government and another where apartments are being built with Albanian funds. Rama took the opportunity to thank Turkey for its assistance following the earthquake.
“Turkey was part of a network of friendly countries that not only expressed themselves verbally from the beginning but also engaged human resources and material resources at the same time.
I had the privilege of meeting the Turkish search and rescue forces and saw for myself the dedication and self-sacrifice that they exhibited while saving Albanian lives. Afterwards, President Erdogan invited me to be present in the country at a major event during which he appealed for solidarity and announced his readiness to build 500 apartments.”
Turkish President Erdogan said he was happy to see the start of the construction of the 524 new homes. He said Albania is Turkey’s closest friend and partner.
“Albania is a close friend and partner of Turkey in the Balkans. We see the joy of the Albanian people as our joy and their sorrow as our sorrow. After the earthquake, we sent 4 barges with humanitarian aid. After the disaster, we also offered the opportunity to build houses despite the pandemic. The works started in August and today we are organizing the ceremony of laying the foundations for these apartments. I hope that this project, which includes 524 apartments, worth EUR 42 million, will be useful and good. ”
Erdogan said the apartment building is a sign of friendship between the two nations.
Today in Parliament, a proposal from Central Election Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi will be discussed that would ban the government from propaganda for four months before the general election.
As per the proposal, some of the country’s top officials will be banned from conducting propaganda with state initiatives. Areas include transport, energy, environment, health, culture, and education. They will also be prohibited from advertising reconstructed buildings or project due to natural disasters, or the public distribution of legalisation permits.
The CEC specifically refers to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, ministers and deputy ministers, mayors, deputy mayors, general directors of agencies, or companies such as OSHEE, Water Supply, or Posta Shqiptare etc.
A decision is expected today and if enforced, it would mean that activities such as today’s would not be allowed.
