TIRANA, Oct 8 /ATA/ Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, stated on Tuesday that the mayors have three instruments to assist their communities in case of civil emergencies.
At the meeting called by Prime Minister Edi Rama with the mayors, Minister of Health and Social Protection Albana Koçiu, Minister of State for Local Government Arbjan Mazniku, on cooperation in the interest of the community which discussed dialogue platforms, civil emergencies and social protection, Vengu provided a snapshot of the fire situation during the June-September period.
“‘We have recorded more than 1,000 wildfires, and what is important for all of us to understand is that each wildfire costs us approximately, on average, 50 hectares of charred land and 50 olive trees,’ said Vengu.”
Vengu said that, fortunately, this season has seen no fatalities, but, he emphasized, the damages remain significant in rural communities.
He outlined the three instruments the mayors have at their disposal to assist the community.
The first instrument, according to him, relates to the management of the conditional grant.
‘The conditional grant for civil protection this year has been 800 million lek, approximately 8 million euros, allocated across all local government units. We have monitored how this conditional grant has been spent,’ said the minister.
He emphasized that, ‘there are small municipalities that have spent the funds very well, and to our surprise, there are large municipalities, with sufficient financial resources, that have not yet spent them. I would invite all mayors to continue using the grant, as we are at the end of the wildfire season but also at the beginning of the flood season, with all teams on the ground recording damages. Take advantage of this moment, because the entire funding from the conditional grant gives you the opportunity to assist citizens with compensations.'”
Vengu addressed the mayors, stating that they have 60% of this fund available for compensations, and it is a very meaningful instrument that the government has made available.
Vengu emphasized that the second instrument is about prevention projects in infrastructure for the management of natural disasters.
‘Last year, there was a fund of 1.1 billion and 570 million lek available. In fact, the disbursement included two installments, in 2023 and in 2024. We have noticed that the entire allocated fund has been contracted by most municipalities, but there are still 14 projects with no contracts signed, and I would invite the mayors to proceed as quickly as possible with their finalization,’ said Vengu.”
Vengu added that the third element is about the dam projects.
‘Here too, there are 14 winning projects. Eight projects are at the stage of signing the contract and six projects are at the stage of completing the procurement process. I would like to see increased attention here as well, because the fund for dams and infrastructure projects this year has been significant, approximately 1 billion and 800 million lek, and we will certainly continue to allocate the same fund for 2025,’ Vengu stated.”
He said, ‘The good news for this year, after having a hard time scheduling projects in the previous two years, documenting them, analyzing them by civil emergencies, and then approval and financing, is that we will give local government units the opportunity. This month, we will open a call for new projects, projects that you may already have in place.’”
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