Not everything went smoothly at the four-hour meeting between Prime Minister Edi Rama and 20 mayors, which was held in Kuç, Vlora. Behind closed doors, discussions on the new territorial map were much more tense than previously reported after the meeting ended.
For about four hours, Prime Minister Rama and the leftist mayors discussed the reform that is expected to bring about the merger of several municipalities, while in some cases the debate turned into strong clashes.
According to the information that has emerged, there were strong clashes inside the hall between Prime Minister Rama and several of the mayors, one of them even left the meeting, while the other is said to have been ejected by the head of government himself.
One of the most tense moments was reportedly the clash between the mayor of Poliçan, Adriatik Zotkaj, and Prime Minister Rama. Zotkaj, who has previously spoken out against the merger of the municipality he heads, defended the position that changing the map would lead to the removal of services from citizens. The debate between them is said to have taken on strong tones, to the point that Zotkaj left the meeting.
“You shouldn’t have been here at all. What the policeman did by burning the cards was an act of impudence,” Rama is reported to have told the mayor, while the latter responded: “The community responded to the ungrateful action of the SP and the Prime Minister. If there is any ungratefulness, it is that of the SP.”
However, this clash was not the only one in that hall, as the discussion with the mayor of Dimal, Juliana Memaj, was also accompanied by tensions. According to what was said to the media, a debate between her and the prime minister ended with Memaj leaving the hall.
“You great leaders!”, Rama is said to have been addressed, while Mema responded by saying: “What a black leader! We have become like municipal workers.”
Apparently, this term used by the mayor’s office to indicate the lack of competence of the local government has angered the prime minister, who asked the mayor to leave the meeting.
The protests did not stop the reform, what was said at Rama’s meeting with the mayors, the prime minister decided on the “fate” of the Municipalities (VIDEO-DETAILES)
The mayor of Selenica, Nertil Bello, and the mayor of Divjaka, Josif Gorrea, were also in the same line, opposing the arguments for the merger of the municipalities they lead. The claim of double standards in the selection of local units that will be merged and those that will continue to function as municipalities was also raised at the table.
It is here that the Municipality of Roskovec, led by Majlinda Bufi, is also mentioned, raising the question of why this municipality has not been included in the list of those to be merged, at a time when, according to them, its performance indicators appear lower compared to some of the municipalities that have already entered the red circle of reform.