The former Minister of Economy, Arben Malaj, said that the government must act with social cohesion proactive policies to support not only individuals, as it has been done so far, but also businesses, as the main instrument that generates economic development.

Albania’s public debt grew up to 66.7% of the GDP during the first trimester of 2020, 0.9% more than by the end of 2019.

The net value of the public debt has increased with 380 million EUR, but it is expected to grow significantly in the next months, due to the effects of the pandemic.

The government took a 174 million EUR loan from the International Monetary Fund during the first trimester, as it was already increasing the intensity of funding from the domestic market.

“The biggest risk, from the social view, will be unemployment. Albania will have 100,000 newly unemployed people. This will increase the poverty of Albanian families, adding the obligation for social cohesion policies. The workers who were let go must receive their payments, families in need must receive regular social welfare”, Malaj said.

For the former Minister, the government’s economic packages have been unclear.

“The government should intervene in three main areas: health which has been managed well; social cohesion, with social policies for the unemployed and poor families, which should also include informal workers; businesses, from small individual ones to larger businesses”, Malaj said.

The former Minister added that the government’s mitigations by lifting taxes must be followed by a higher, stable economic growth, which can produce new jobs in order to fight poverty.