Prime Minister Edi Rama has admitted that the lack of protective infrastructure, such as dams and drainage canals, contributed to the floods of the first weeks of January.
"The lack of protective infrastructure, hydropower plants and drainage channels, has increased significantly in the last 10 years, but the analysis shows that there are points where resistance is weaker," he said.
But Rama continues to maintain that climate change and plastic bottles are the main culprits for the floods. In the meeting he held with the mayors, Rama harshly criticized the irresponsibility of citizens who throw waste on the streets and public spaces.
"The year began with a difficult weather situation and confronted us with the challenge of an emergency, in conditions where emergencies are becoming systematic and taking on a different profile as a result of climate change. This situation was complicated, among other things, by the shocking irresponsibility of many of us, who as citizens or as Albanian-speaking visitors consider this country as a landfill wherever they are and throw away their empty water bottle or plastic bag," he said.
Simply put, the millions of euros spent by the government on sewers, drainage networks, and waste management have not yielded results, and the aim is now to achieve a solution through raising citizen awareness.
However, just as it has become common for government measures to come after a disaster occurs, this time Rama announced the establishment of a task force between the government and local government, to devise a plan that extends from awareness-raising to concrete action to clean up the waste.
The Prime Minister continued his criticism of the mayors, emphasizing that they have not completed the first phase of the mountains package. Although this package has been viewed with skepticism by experts in the field, because it may incite property conflicts in the areas where it will be applied, Rama has pledged to complete the project.
He has even set conditions for mayors, emphasizing that if they want to run again in the next elections, they must meet the quota set by the government.
