Premier ‘quarrels’ with his finance minister on GDP growth figure

TIRANA, Jan 6 – Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Finance Minister Ridvan Bode quarreled at a meeting Tuesday on the correct figure of the ann8ual GDP growth.
Bode and his deputies present at the meeting said the growth was 7.2 percent and that was also approved of the international institutions and independent organizations.
But that figure did not please the premier who mentioned the figure of 9.9 percent mentioned earlier by the Institute of Statistics, adding that was also approved by the International Monetary Fund.
In the last public appearance on November 11, IMF Mission Chief Gerwin Bell said that “growth has remained buoyant and on track to reach 6 percent again this year.”
Who was right or correct in the figures and resources?
That’s hard to say when dealing with Albanian politics.
Bode rejected the economic growth projection given by the state statistics institute, but found himself rebuked by Berisha.
INSTAT said in December that Albania registered a record high Gross Domestic Product growth of 9.9 percent in the last four quarters ending September 30, a period that includes the last quarter of 2007 and the first three quarters of 2008.
Sali Berisha said that the Finance Ministry was at a conflict of interest also accusing them of offering figures they were pleased with.