{"id":24534,"date":"2021-11-07T14:35:07","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T13:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=24534"},"modified":"2021-11-07T14:35:07","modified_gmt":"2021-11-07T13:35:07","slug":"pm-rama-slams-district-mayors-over-widespread-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/pm-rama-slams-district-mayors-over-widespread-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Rama slams district mayors over widespread pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

Strangely, the major of Vlora, Dritan Leli, wasn\u2019t present in the meeting, which prompted those present to send strong criticism and negative remarks his way.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Giving his remarks from a podium set up intentionally in an area filled with garbage, Rama said that a polluted environment doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMunicipal council will knock out the mayor\u2019s budget if the tax they collected by private subject doesn\u2019t go towards cleaning the area,\u201d \u2013 said the prime minister.<\/p>\n

According to Rama, the money doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cGarbage bins should be used by businesses but by individuals. Because all it takes is for one business to throw his one day\u2019s worth of waste and the bin will be full,\u201d \u2013 said Rama, adding that a special time will be set out for the collection of waste caused by businesses.<\/p>\n

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 \u2018national treason\u2019.<\/p>\n

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