TIRANA – Albanian deputies will get half of their salary for three months a measure taken to earmark money to vital economic and social fields of the country.
An announcement released by the press office of the parliament has specified that the Bureau had decided to cut in half MPs’ salaries for a three-month period. This measure, as the announcement said, is taken to ease the pandemic situation created by the Covid -19 virus and as a token of solidarity with citizens and businesses affected by the disease.
The decision was made on Thursday by the Bureau of Parliament at a virtual meeting chaired by Parliament Speaker Gramoz Ruci, who launched also another initiative. According to it, Ruci has sent a letter to thirty heads of constitutional and law-making institutions calling on them to embrace the same initiative, that is to halve their salaries for a three-month period.
On Wednesday the ruling Socialist Party lawmakers chose to voluntarily give up half of their salaries by making it available to the state budget. In addition the government decided a few days ago to cut in half the salaries of the prime minister, deputy prime minister and cabinet ministers for three months.
Such a step had been backed by President Ilir Meta who said his salary and those of the staff of the Presidency would be reduced in line with the scheme unveiled by the government.
It was PM Rama who was the first to announce such an undertaking, which, as it was expected, would be supported by other government and state institutions. With the beginning of April after the 3-week confinement economic and financial problems are surfacing in Albania where a large number of people either live on dole or get a minimum salary not sufficient to meet the most vital needs. /argumentum.al
