TIRANA, Jan. 26 – On Sunday, the Albanian government launched the online application platform for the November 26 earthquake reconstruction program. However, this was not received well by the opposition, which claimed that the government had failed to resolve the earthquake crisis two months after the tragedy which left 51 dead, nearly one thousand wounded, and around 14,000 homeless people.

Government officials provided a number of details on how the program will be implemented later on, as Prime Minister Edi Rama said the government would stand by any family that has lost their home and their lifetime fortune. Moreover, PM Rama announced last week that the total damage from the earthquake is estimated to be over 1 billion dollars, but the full study will be published soon. He said families affected by the earthquake will be compensated on the basis of the extent of damage to their homes, assisted by international organisations.

However, DP Chairman Lulzim Basha, wrote that the government has not yet issued an official earthquake damage bill, there is still no final assessment of damaged buildings, there are still thousands of families living in tents, without any help from the state or administration offices. Basha said thousands of citizens are still living in damaged homes, endangering their lives and the health of their children because they have nowhere else to go. He said many businesses are being shut down by the Durrës earthquake and in other cities and hundreds of citizens are unemployed.

In this line, the European Union will organize an international donors’ conference in support of reconstruction in Brussels on February 17, following Albania’s earthquake. The EU Member States, partners of the Western Balkans and other countries, international financial organizations and institutions, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, committed themselves to participate in the conference.