FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
" Nobody's hospital has been affected ."
With this sentence, the Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhja, tried to quell the debate over the government's decision to finance the concert of American rapper Kanye West with 4.25 million euros.
But, as the popular saying goes, the sun cannot be covered with a sieve.
Because the question many citizens are asking is not whether the money was taken from one budget item or another. The question is whether a government should use the state's reserve fund to save a private activity, at a time when hospitals complain about a lack of medicine, schools have numerous investment needs, and dozens of public projects await funding.
In the interview with A2 CNN, Gonxha insisted that the fund has not violated any other government program.
" Nobody's hospital has been affected, nor has anyone's program. It is a small fund... that is there for cases when there are unforeseen needs and that meets the conditions of an unforeseen need ," the minister declared.
However, the government's decision itself raises the question of whether saving a private concert can be considered an "unforeseen need" in the constitutional sense of using the reserve fund.
Just a day ago, economic and legal experts argued that the reserve fund is intended for natural disasters, health emergencies or extraordinary situations and not to cover the costs of organizing a concert.
But the minister went even further, defending the investment with the argument that the damage from canceling the concert would be greater.
" The loss we would have, the damage that would be caused by the disappointment of those who bought tickets. Maybe some of them would not be able to get their money back. There are people who paid 15 thousand dollars and came all the way from Australia ," Gonxha said.
He also insisted that the state cannot stay away from the creative industry.
" This is a seemingly private market, but it is part of the creative industry of our country. There is no place in the world... where the state sits behind one wall and the private sector behind another. This wall does not exist ," the minister said.
In fact, according to him, the economic effect of the concert will be four times greater than the funding provided by the government.
However, the criticism has not subsided.
Because 4.25 million euros is public money.
This is money that, according to critics, could be used for investments in hospitals, schools, local roads or for other needs of citizens. Just a few days ago, experts calculated that this amount could be used to build a new school, buy dozens of urban buses or finance important investments in the health system.
Meanwhile, for months, citizens have been denouncing the lack of medicines in public hospitals and the difficulties in obtaining basic services, while the government argues that a private concert constitutes an emergency that justifies the use of the state reserve fund.
And that's exactly where the debate lies.
Because no one discusses the importance of an international event or its impact on tourism. The debate is whether citizens' taxes should be used to cover the costs of a private organization, after the government itself had stated for months that the concert would be held without any funding from the state budget.
In the end, one fact remains that no statement can change: 4.25 million euros came from the state budget to save a private concert. And this, as the popular saying goes, cannot be covered by the sun with a sieve.
Shprehja :" Nuk mbulohet dielli me shoshë " nuk qëndron.Më e skta shpreje është : " Nuk lahet muti me shurrë "