From Shkodra, where he held a meeting as part of the electoral campaign for the local elections, Prime Minister Edi Rama responded to critical voices that say he does not love this city.
"There are people who think we should not vote for Edi Rama. I'm talking about those who see this as political warfare. Our candidate is more blue, but we have no problem with this at all. I have shown for 3 mandates that you don't let me, just like you don't let me, I'm here. But to those who say that Edi Rama does not love Shkodra, I tell you that it is much more likely that I love Shkodra than those who come here as a couple who have no connection to Shkodra than I do, at least part of the blood and I have it from Shkodra, I have it from a grandmother who raised me, even blood does not become water".
The Prime Minister spoke about an economic potential that Shkodra has, which, according to him, is not being used by the municipality run by the Democrats.
"I can't help but love Shkodra because I know very well that here is one of the dormant forces of the Albanian economy. I think that if we awaken this economic force that Shkodra has, it will not only be good for Shkodra, it will be good for the entire Albanian economy. These are tales that are eaten by those who want to eat them and do not want to reason. Yes, I made the stadium of Shkodra for the fans of Vllaznia".
"Shkodra, the only municipality covered by garbage"
Rama accused the Municipality of Shkodra run by the democrats of not cleaning the city and the bins are covered with garbage.
At the electoral meeting in Shkodër where he asked for the citizens' vote for the socialist candidate Benet Beci, Rama also mentioned the example of clean Boga, while Thethi, which is run by the democrats, according to him, is rubbish.
"Why do you see trash in Theth, but not in Boga?" Because in Bogë there is a mayor of ours, while in Theth there is a mayor who has nothing to do with our work culture, nothing to do with our management culture. In 31 years, those who are here in Shkodër have not been able to create an example in a municipality of Albania who know how to take a city, a village, an area from here and stick it here.
Shkodra is the only municipality where garbage cans are covered with garbage. We are continuing to raise the environmental level of Albania to a level that has never been there. In Shkodër it is impossible", said Rama.
"We have done more for Shkodra than those who run the Municipality"
Rama also mentioned the investments that the government has made in this region. The Prime Minister accused the Shkodra Municipality run by the democrats of blocking projects in this city.
"It makes me laugh when I hear that we haven't done anything for Shkodra. We have not done much for Shkodra, but we have done more than those who run Shkodra. When I first came to Shkodër as Prime Minister, I heard that you built the Shkodër-Velipoja road and you fulfilled your main task. The road was built and our government did it, not that other government. The road to Theth has been completed, today it goes by road to the center of Theth. Our government did it. We are building the Shengjin-Velipoja road. In these three cases, the Municipality of Shkodra has blackened our lives with letters for expropriation. We don't need anything else because these are roads for which we don't get permission from the municipality".
Rama spoke about some projects that require the permission of the Municipality of Shkodra, according to which, the work has been stalled precisely by the municipal administration. One of them is the water supply of Shiroka.
"Where the permission of the municipality is required, what is currently happening with two projects such as the Shiroka water pipeline, the water pipelines are not being built because the Shkodër Municipality does not give us a construction permit. As far as I have been informed, the Democrats, no matter how fanatical they are, drink colorless water. And I haven't heard that Democrats want blue water or run out of water. The municipality of Shkodra still leaves the residents of Shiroka and Zogaj without water.
Another project, in all municipalities we have started a project for energy efficiency and we finance residential buildings that are covered with hoods and have a much better waterproofing than ordinary buildings. There are 5 or 6 others like this who cannot start work. We have done what we could, not what we wanted for Shkodra, and what we could do without the Municipality.
In the Municipality of Shkodra, people who have been chosen by the party have entered and not people who have thought about how to make the municipality available to make Shkodra the way it should be", said Rama.