The draft contains ambitious projects in priority sectors like infrastructure, healthcare and education.
TIRANA, Nov 10 – Albania’s government has approved its draft state budget for the next year, revealing ambitious projects in priority sectors like infrastructure, healthcare and education.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha presented the new draft budget to the media, giving specific details. He said the current draft will raise pensions and wages; it will completely restructure economic assistance, and further develop information technology in Albania through what he called the “digitalized Albania” project.
After getting the government’s approval, the new draft budget will have to pass through various parliamentary commissions and at the end be approved by the parliament itself.
Wages, pensions and economic assistance
The government promises a substantial increase in pensions and wages, a continuation on the past mandate’s policy regarding administrative wages. According to Berisha, the latest increases in 2010 will be financed by an increase of 12 percent in budget revenues.
“Wages that are low will continue to be our priority. We will give them the highest increase. Higher wages will enjoy only a modest increase of 2 percent above inflation. Mid level wages will also be increased considerably, especially in job positions such as teachers, doctors, nurses, police, and soldiers,” Berisha said.
Starting from next year, Albania’s military will be reformed, moving from compulsory service to paid professional one.
The new budget also plans to positively affect pensions.
“We will continue in our intent to soon equalize pension rates between urban and rural areas. Hence pensions increase in rural areas will be higher,” Mr. Berisha said.
Rural pensions we doubled by the Berisha government during the last mandate by the gap with urban pensions remains striking.
Also, the latest draft plans a complete reorganization of the state’s economic assistance, a need this point out several time by international institutions such as the World Bank. The main objective in this regard would be the elimination of extreme poverty in Albania, which, according to the latest data, counts for 1.3 percent of Albanians.
Major projects in infrastructure
The government will continue with big projects in infrastructure, a trend inherited from the previous mandate. It is obvious because the Ministry of Transports has the biggest budget share of all.
“The 2010 budget will make possible huge ambitious projects in infrastructure and other sectors. We will invest all the necessary funds so that the Arbri Road will be completed by 2011 or by the first half of 2012 at the latest,” Mr. Berisha said.
The Arbri Road is the latest grandiose road project following the construction of the Patriotic Highway, a 1.4 billion euro highway connecting Albania with Kosovo and the rest of Western Balkans. This time, the Arbri Road will connect the north of Albania with its south.
However, Berisha was adamant his government will not overlook construction and restoration of rural roads.
“About the countryside, I can gladly declare that this will be the biggest mobilization of financial funds in the history of this country. More than US$400 million will be gathered from foreign donators for the construction and restoration of the rural network of roads,” the prime minister said.
Donors, led by the World Bank, seem to have intensified their trust and support behind the Berisha administration, assigning funds in amounts never seen before in the tiny Balkan country.
A byproduct of the serious investment in rural infrastructure will be its boost to the country’s agriculture sector.
Despite several projects, lots of good will, and volumes of excellent rhetoric, agriculture continues to remain one of the poorest sectors in Albania’s economy, but also one with an important potential.
The new Berisha mandate aims to hopefully reshape the fragmentized sectors into a competitive economy of European standards. An interesting fact remains Berisha’s promise to plant 20 million new olive trees in the next four years.
Full reforms in store for healthcare, education and information technology
Healthcare will be another absolute priority for the new Berisha mandate. The sector in the last couple of years has been characterized by many scandals such as high levels of corruptions among the white coats, poor health service, and a general lack of hygiene. The new reform will aim to improve financial compensation of doctors and nurses in order to drop corruption levels. On the other hand, state funds will be directed to improve service quality in hospital and health centers.
“I would like to add that reform in health care will be the mother of all reforms,” Berisha promised.
Major steps will also be taken toward the modernization of all educational cycles. The new government hopes that by 2013, Albanian education system will be ready for the reintroduction of the obligatory high school education.
The full introduction of information technology in Albania is a major personal challenge for Mr. Berisha. Convinced that IT is the way of the future, the Albanian prime minister will make it compulsory for all his administration levels to attend IT courses and gain the necessary skills to compete in this highly computerized world.
And once the administration is educated according to global standards, according to Mr. Berisha, it will be the turn of the provinces, and remote villages in every corner of Albania will enjoy the same makeover.
