Price hike taking heavy toll on Albanians’ poverty

TIRANA, Feb. 7 – The world financial crisis seems to be taking a heavy toll on the Albanian poor population.
Albanians in one of Europe’s poorest countries are trying to make ends meet following the continuous tendency of price increase in the last year.
That starts from bread, normally a basic food item for a poor population, which has increased 70 percent only since October last year. Bakeries are hindering the increase could be 100 percent very soon excusing themselves of the flour price increase in the international market.
But poor Albanians now should buy other basic items like the sunflower oil from 150 leks to 250 leks in less than a year, or all vegetables at a normally higher price compared to a year ago. All the daily food items have increased at least 40 percent compared to a year ago.
Poor Albanians also buy the fuel they use with their second-hand cars more expensively than in western European countries, not taking into consideration the fact of its low quality. They buy diesel or petrol at 1.2 Euros.
Very soon the government will bow to the International Monetary Fund pressure to increase the power price.
At a time when the Albanian Electric-Energy Corporation, or KESH, a public one, cannot really collect all the consumers’ money, often including public institutions, the price of electricity is expected to rise likely next month by 15-20 percent.
It will again be the ‘lawful’ and regular consumers who are to pay that price at a time when authorities let many others steal it for free, an act which has caused regular daily power cuts.
The recent price hike is taking a heavy toll not only on the poor strata, which are at least one-fourth of the population with less than 2 dollars per day, but also on pensioners.
Their monthly pension of 10,000 leks should pay electricity and water consume but also feed them and warm their houses.
Naturally Albania is included in the international market and would feel consequences of the world recession. That explains the justification of the government saying they cannot impose a price on keeping bread loaf price unchanged due to the international market.
But in this tiny and poor country the market rules are often violated and businesses try to earn as much as possible in the shortest possible time. That is where the government should set its hands and keep the market economy rules under control.
Not to add that often there could be hidden attempts to allegedly let free the price hike intentionally in order to favor certain business groups.
True this government claims it has broken the former monopolies, including the ones in the import of food items.
But this centre-right government claims to be committed in fighting poverty in this country, though it is doing nothing.
Is there a solution to such a directly-connected problem to the poor people? Sure there should be and may come from the economists whom the country does not lack.
But often in this country such problems immediately turn into a political issue, with everyone from each political wing giving advise that normally intend not to improve the situation but only to move the opponent from power.
Poor Albanians!