In reply to the opposition’s allegations in the Assembly regarding the performance of municipalities and spending on salaries, Mazniku stated that the past 10 years have seen a significant increase in the revenues collected by the municipalities themselves.

“From 13.1 billion lek in revenues collected by municipalities in 2014, or 36% of the total spending, today we are at a level of 34.9 billion lek. The amount of revenue collected by municipalities has nearly tripled. This amount now accounts for 51% of the total expenditures,” said Minister Mazniku.

On the other hand, he pointed out , the volume of investments per capita has also doubled.

“We were at a level of 3,773 lek in investments per capita; today we are at 6,724 lek in investments per capita. The volume of investments per capita has doubled,” said Mazniku.

According to him, in 2014, salary expenses accounted for 70% of the total budget. Today, he said, they account for 43% of the budget.

“This data is enough to show the share that salaries hold within the total budget of the municipalities. On the other hand, there are municipalities with the lowest salary expenses, such as Himara, Tirana, and Kamza, while the three municipalities with the highest salary expenses are Mirdita, Fushë Arrëzi, and Këlcyra,” declared Mazniku.

Regarding the accusations about the increase in the number of civil emergency staff, Mazniku emphasized that the number has doubled, yet again it falls short of the necessary level.

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