PM Edi Rama, accompanied by the minister of tourism, minister of defense and the prefect of Vlora, became part of an initiative earlier today, to clean up the entire area of the Soda Forest in Vlore.

Strangely, the major of Vlora, Dritan Leli, wasn’t present in the meeting, which prompted those present to send strong criticism and negative remarks his way.

Initially, the head of state thanked all the youth that joined the initiative, before going on the harshly criticize local authorities over waste mismanagement and environmental pollution. Rama especially criticized the Municipality of Vlora, saying that the indifference of its mayor regarding the present state of pollution, is intolerable.

Giving his remarks from a podium set up intentionally in an area filled with garbage, Rama said that a polluted environment doesn’t only harm tourism but also the health and well-being of citizens. Apart from the environmental harms, Rama said that the collection of waste into illegal disposal sites creates additional issues with the administrative procedures of waste declaration that will be met with penalties for those responsible.

In addition, Rama said that a dedicated fund will be set up to focus on cleaning up the coast, in addition to a specialized task force from the National Coastal Agency.

“Municipal council will knock out the mayor’s budget if the tax they collected by private subject doesn’t go towards cleaning the area,” – said the prime minister.

According to Rama, the money doesn’t go into guaranteeing total hygiene for the entire coastal line, emphasizing that the pollution caused by restaurants and other businesses during the summer, will no longer be tolerated.

“Garbage bins should be used by businesses but by individuals. Because all it takes is for one business to throw his one day’s worth of waste and the bin will be full,” – said Rama, adding that a special time will be set out for the collection of waste caused by businesses.

Lastly, the prime minister pointed to the state police calling their lack of action intolerable, adding that he considers harming the environment to be on the same line as ‘national treason’.

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