“Reforms, not for political purposes” – The SP deputy who criticised the ministers in the Assembly: There was no one in the chamber

The Socialist Party deputy, Ermal Pacaj, was asked about Monday’s plenary session in the Assembly, as he was delivering his speech, but what stood out was the absence of the ministers.

He was critical during his speech in the Assembly because, as he said in the News24 studio, the session should have dealt with citizens’ problems, but that in fact was missing.

“I expected to discuss some of the problems in the session. But not all the ministers were there. It was a very normal situation of the moment. And the impact I wanted it to have was a discussion with the respective ministers, but when none of them is there, a reaction comes naturally,” he said.

During the interview he also stated that the opposition’s narrative against the territorial reform has been simply “noise”.

“The opposition’s narrative to anathemize what was done in 2014 has not stuck. After the past territorial reform, investments have increased, and debts have also been reduced. The dynamic has changed completely, from services to citizens, cleaning services, infrastructure, lighting,” he said.

During the interview, he also stopped at the territorial reform, which has been opposed by some residents who do not accept the merger of their municipality.

But asked about the Territorial Reform, Pacaj said that public hearings have been held and that, according to him, it has nothing to do with the SP’s political purposes, as the opposition has accused.

“The reforms are not for the SP’s political purposes, but it has come on the basis of work and reporting. In all districts except Korça, public hearings have been held,” he said, adding: “When we talk about hearings, we did not go to explain it to the citizens, but to listen to the citizens on what they propose so that there are changes. So it was a hearing of what they tell us. They have been integrated into the report. It was simply an opinion, not a legal obligation.”