Territorial reform debate: Korreshi clashes with Manja and Brahimi in the Laws Committee

The debate on territorial reform brought clashes and exchanges between majority and opposition representatives in the Laws Committee.

Fran Brahimi, finance director at the Ministry of Finance, argued that merging some municipalities could bring savings and create more opportunities for investment.

Democratic Party MP Saimir Korreshi questioned that argument, demanding concrete data on municipalities’ performance and on the number of employees over the years.

The debate was accompanied by exchanges between Korreshi and Laws Committee chairman Ulsi Manja over the reform’s motives and effects, as TCH reports.

In the end, Manja closed the discussion and moved on with the agenda.

The debate:

Brahimi: The Ministry of Finance and the Council of Ministers support this initiative. In 2015, 130 million euros were spent. The departure of services — 80-90 percent of them are bureaucratic. Public services are found on the mobile phone. Costs go down and services are offered. If these proposed municipalities merge, savings are over 30 percent. Spending on salaries and per diems turns into investment.

Korreshi: He’s mocking us. No, really, he’s mocking us. I asked you which performed better, Divjaka or Roskovec?

Brahimi: Divjaka, of course. Trying to move to an economy of scale saves money that goes to other investments. Most services will be digital.

Korreshi: Which municipality performed better, Divjaka or Roskovec?

Brahimi: I told you — Divjaka, definitely.

Korreshi: Has the number of employees increased or decreased since 2015?

Brahimi: It has grown by over 20,000 employees. Over 14,000 came from added competencies. Over 5,000 is the net increase in staff. The reason: added assets, competencies, public works.

Manja: You can’t take Fran down — he’s been there since 1997. He was there in your time too.

Korreshi: Thank you, honorable chairman, because this reform, according to Mazniku’s data, was made only to collect votes for the SP, mechanically multiplying and removing right-leaning municipalities. Good night and goodbye!

Manja: You’re welcome. We continue with the agenda.