The Council of Ministers held its next meeting this Wednesday, where several important decisions were adopted in various fields, including compensation for former political prisoners and the development of rural areas.
The Minister of Finance, Petrit Malaj, announced that the government has approved changes to the relevant decision related to compensation, aiming to accelerate the payment process and increase their efficiency.
According to him, the changes foresee that payments of up to 1 million lek will be liquidated within the next installment, while within the next 4-5 years, payments for around 6 thousand files are expected to be completed.
Meanwhile, an increase in the annual fund, currently around 1.5 billion lek, is also foreseen.
"At today's government meeting, we approved an amendment to the Council of Ministers' Decision 419 related to compensation for former political victims. The amendments proposed by the Ministry of Finance and the payment of compensation in installments, eight equal installments, on the other hand, we have decided that all payments worth up to 1 million lek will be paid within the next installment. With these amendments, within a 4-5 year period, it is expected that about 6 thousand files out of 10 thousand 360 that are in total, in the payment process, will be fully paid.
This change is expected to be accompanied by a number of positive effects: Significant acceleration in the time of the process, where the interval between installments is reduced to about 2–2.5 years from 3.5–4 years currently. Increase in the annual fund for compensation. Currently, this fund is about 1.5 billion lek. This decision aims not only to increase the efficiency of payments, but above all to fulfill a moral obligation towards the families of all persons who have suffered unjustly from the previous regime" , said Minister Malaj.
On the other hand, the Minister of Local Government, Ervin Demo, announced the approval of three new municipalities within the framework of the mountain package, specifically Delvinë, Konispol and Pogradec.
He emphasized that the application process from citizens has advanced in most municipalities and that this initiative aims to promote local and rural development in priority areas.
"Today we have just approved three new municipalities regarding the mountain package. The proposals received in the priority areas have been approved for the municipalities of Delvinë, Konispol and Pogradec. The number of municipalities has now exceeded almost 2/3 and normally in most municipalities the application phase by citizens has advanced. Regarding the mountain package in the context of priority areas and above all in the context of local rural development", said Minister Demo.