Flooding Heats Up Politics

TIRANA, Jan. 13 – While floodwaters cover most of northwestern Albania, both government and opposition are competing to make political gains from the disaster.
The government on one side insists that the natural calamity was unpredictable.
The opposition, on the other side, says that Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Energy Minister Dritan Prifti are directly responsible for the flooding of the area.
The opposition Socialists are insisting that Prifti of the Socialists Movement for Integration should resign from the post.
That was considered by the LSI head and Foreign Minister Ilir Meta as a personal enmity on the part of the Socialist leader Edi Rama. He reminded that Rama has always been in bad relations with Prifti since he left the Socialists.
But the Socialists say the disaster was sparked by the decision from the energy ministry to keep water levels high during the previous months in order to earn more (profit illegally) with its sale later.
They say that such a move is a penal act and have urged the prosecutor general to immediately start the investigation into the case.
Besides, their leader has also criticized the government for bad management of the crisis and insisted it should compensate the flood-hit population in cash and immediately.
What is clear is that the area will need much money, effort and commitment, and, above all, the willingness of the residents to be rehabilitated.
Experts have warned that much money and efforts will be needed to rehabilitate them and that the strategy should start now.
The government continues to stress that everybody will be compensated for their losses.
Where the money is coming from?
The power corporation KESH can earn no more than 10 million euros from the sale of energy at these times.
The finance ministry has said it will start the calculation of the damage but has no final figures yet.
“We shall assess and indemnify all damage caused by floods. No human lives lost, that’s the important thing. Likewise, we shall attempt to minimize damage to livestock. It’s important the inhabitants get evacuated,” said Berisha Wednesday when he held an emergency cabinet meeting in Shkodra in a sign of concern for the situation.
He went further. Berisha said that by September a project for deepening of the Buna River bed would be launched. “I have come to agreement with the Montenegrin prime minister to begin work jointly in September for deepening of the Buna River, i.e. to make it navigable so that to add to its attractive capacity. This time many bad things happened at the same time: swelling of the sea and of the lake, but we shall deal with the problems one by one.”
These are good and warm words in such freezing and ‘wet’ moments. Are they real or just politics?
Taking into consideration the agriculture area, the number of people and houses and other things damaged, one may estimate damage in the high figures of hundreds of millions of euros.
Where will the government find this money?
For the moment it is the common people, organizations and the international institutions and other countries that will provide funds.
Rehabilitation of that area will really be difficult and need a long time and much money.
Meanwhile, President Bamir Topi is holding regular meetings with top officials of the energy authorities and others to discuss the situation in the flood-battered northwest.
In Mid-week rains stopped and the situation started to improve as water levels returned to normal.
But while there is no more water from the sky, authorities continue to discharge water from three hydro electric power stations after danger levels were reached.
Some 11,400 hectares, and 2,650 homes have been flooded and some 5,150 people evacuated from the area.
Authorities hope that dry weather will help them in the coming days.