Socialist municipalities 'obey' Rama's order, administrators in Elbasan, Kukës, Korça, Shkodra and Lushnje resign!

The heads of the regions, together with the mayors, have begun dismissing all directors and administrators of administrative units in their areas, in accordance with the order of Prime Minister Edi Rama.   

After the dismissals that occurred today in Korça, Elbasan, Kolonjë, Fier, Kukës and Malësi e Madhe, the resignation process has also begun in Lushnje and Shkodër.  

In a meeting held in the Lushnja municipality, the Deputy Prime Minister and political leader of the Socialist Party in the Fier region, Belinda Balluku, requested the resignation of the directors and 13 administrators. 

In the Municipality of Shkodra, all the heads of administrative units have submitted their resignations. This municipality has a total of ten administrative units. The news was confirmed by the Municipality of Shkodra itself through an official announcement, distributed to the media. 

" In response to media interest, we would like to inform you that all administrators of administrative units in the Municipality of Shkodra have submitted their resignations from their positions at the Municipality institution ," the announcement states. 

Also, unofficial sources from the Malësi e Madhe Municipality say that the administrators of 5 administrative units and 2 deputy mayors of the municipality have submitted their resignations. 

In all municipalities where the mayors are socialists, the departures of deputy mayors, administrators or heads of institutions that are subordinate to the municipalities continue.

So after Vlora, Durrës, Korça, Elbasan, Kolonja, Kukës, where the resignations of local officials have already been confirmed, the wave of change has shifted to the Shkodra Region. With the exception of the two municipalities, Puka and Fushë Arrëz, which are run by the Democrats, movements are expected in the other 3 municipalities, Malësi e Madhe, Vau i Dejës and Shkodër.

Thus, according to reports, today, in Malësia e Madhe, the deputy mayors and administrators of the units that this Municipality includes have resigned.

Also, a closed-door meeting has begun in the Municipality of Shkodra where changes are also expected, following the orders given by the Prime Minister, while on Tuesday, another meeting is expected in the Municipality of Vau i Dejës.

Rama's order aims for a radical change in leaders in local units, where with the exception of Mayors, every other position is vulnerable.

Initially, Rama requested the change of directors and the storm started from Vlora and then moved to each region. Then it was the turn of the administrators appointed by the mayors and finally the request was made to refresh the deputy mayors of the municipalities, whom the Prime Minister described as sleepy.

"It is necessary and it is good for the deputy mayors to change. Because I see them very tired, very, very tired, I see them exhausted. I see them exhausted. You cannot change. You have two more years, you have two more years, whatever you want," Rama addressed the mayors.

Despite any opposition within the SP to this order, what is happening day by day are the resignations of officials.

What is happening so far is the performance assessment of each local leader by the mayors and in accordance with this assessment, they can continue to hold the position or leave. So far, the path of resignations has been chosen, so leaders, regardless of their positions, have been given the opportunity to leave on their own, perhaps hoping for a second term or to take on new positions.

Today, the Democratic Party leader, Sali Berisha, has called on the mayors representing the DP to obey only the law and the Constitution and not the orders of Edi Rama, which are considered political. This has led to no resignations at any level in the local units controlled by the opposition. It is not known how long this type of resistance by the Democratic Party mayors can last, but even in the meeting held with Edi Rama, the latter seems to have excluded the elected representatives of the DP from the 'orders'.

The Mayor of Has, Miftar Dauti, declared that he will not fire any employees. It seems that he does not obey Rama's order, while he stated that they will only be fired if they commit violations.

Rama said that all heads of administrative units throughout the Republic of Albania should be dismissed. During a meeting in Durrës with mayors of municipalities, Rama said that they should be given a chance again, giving others the opportunity to show that they can be more capable than them.

Miftar Dauti told "TCH" that just a week ago, Has municipality employees did a colossal job by completely extinguishing the fire near Mount Pashtriku.

Meanwhile, the Municipality of Kukës has dismissed all its administrators and two deputy mayors for poor performance.

A few days after Rama's order, 14 administrators and 2 deputy mayors of the Municipality of Kukës were removed from office. 

"On July 10, 2025, a performance analysis of the institution of the Municipality of Kukës was conducted for the period January-June 2025.

In order to improve work and increase the level of service to citizens, the Mayor of Kukës decided to dismiss 14 administrators of Administrative Units and 2 deputy mayors of the Municipality.

"The work will continue with a focus on improving performance indicators in all sectors where problems have been identified, as well as with increased attention to the quality of services for citizens," the official announcement of the municipality states.

Meanwhile, a wave of resignations has also occurred in the Municipality of Kolonja, where three heads of administrative units have submitted their resignations.

There were also resignations in Bsahkina, Elbasan and Korça. 

It is expected that in the coming days, resignations will continue in other municipalities.

Pas ultimatumit të dhënë nga kryeministri Rama, 6 kryetarët e njësive administrative në Bashkinë e Korçës kanë paraqitur dorëheqjen e tyre.

Këto dorëheqje janë dorëzuar pranë kryetarit të Bashkisë së Korçës, Sotiraq Filo. Bëhet me dije se ata do të vijojnë të qëndrojnë në detyrë deri në emërimin e pasardhësve të tyre.

Ndërkohë, dy nënkryetarët e Bashkisë Korçë nuk kanë paraqitur dorëheqje, ndërsa nuk u është kërkuar një veprim i tillë prej kryetarit të Bashkisë.

Valë dorëheqjen ka ndodhur edhe në Bashkinë e Kolonjës, ku tre kryetarë njësish administrative kanë paraqitur dorëheqjen.

Pritet që në ditët në vijim, dorëheqjet të vijojnë edhe në bashkitë e tjera të qarkut, konkretisht në Maliq, Devoll dhe Pogradec.

Pas urdhrit të Rama, një valë dorëheqjesh përfshiu edhe Bashkinë Elbasan këtë fillim jave pas sipas afatit që ishte caktuar. Afati i dorëheqjes, nga Rama ishte dita e sotme.

Data from the Institute of Statistics show that the production of milk and other by-products declined last year, a situation that continues throughout this year. This situation, together with the increase in domestic demand, has significantly favored imports. This action will also severely damage small and local producers.

Prime Minister Edi Rama

Starting today, the sale of dairy products without a tax invoice will no longer be allowed.

Taxes will 'come down' on the ground to verify whether products are accompanied by a fiscal invoice at the time of purchase.

This action comes after Prime Minister Edi Rama's ultimatum during a meeting with the country's mayors. The ultimatum aims to ensure product traceability to guarantee food safety.

"Starting Monday, there will be no more warnings, only seizures of any type of dairy product and milk without an invoice," Rama said during the meeting with the mayors.

According to the government, by carrying out all circulation of products with an invoice, it will be easier to identify those entities or farmers who violate food safety, since the invoice clarifies the origin of the product. The Ministry of Agriculture Anila Denaj and the Minister of Finance Petrit Malaj also warned during an inspection that no violation that violates food safety for citizens will be tolerated.

But this action seriously endangers livestock farmers and small producers for reasons related to fiscal problems. The 2019 law, 'On the invoice and circulation monitoring system', widely known as 'fiscalization', exempts farmers from the obligation to issue a tax invoice when they sell the product. On the other hand, the buyer, who can be a trader, dairy farmer, or collector, must issue an invoice to the farmer at the moment they receive the product.

With the legal amendments to the Value Added Tax law in 2018-2019, it was decided that the VAT for agriculture would be 0%. In this case, collectors, traders or companies have no interest in purchasing domestic production, issuing invoices with VAT since they can no longer reimburse it. In the best case scenario, if they buy it, they are forced to charge 20 percent on top of the price, and as a result, the final product for consumers is more expensive.

On the other hand, there is a reality that cannot be ignored. In Tirana, where there is no milk processing factory like in Lushnje or Berat and Gjirokastër, this product risks remaining unsold by small-scale farmers. The solution for them in this case would be their withdrawal from livestock breeding, deepening a crisis that has been going on for several years. Albania counts less than 1.7 million heads of cows and small animals, down from 2.4 million heads a decade ago.

Data from the Institute of Statistics show that the production of milk and other by-products declined last year, a situation that continues this year. This situation, together with the increase in domestic demand, has significantly favored imports. Official figures show that in recent years the import of dairy and meat products has increased rapidly. From 2020 to the end of 2024, according to estimates, 300 million euros of dairy products and 383 million euros of meat products and offal were purchased from abroad.