Democratic leader Sali Berisha has considered the failure to increase pensions for Albanian pensioners a crime.
During the meeting held in Elbasan, Berisha said that Montenegro has nothing more than Albania, where pensions are 3 times higher than in our country.
" Edi Rama, recognizing the crime he committed against pensioners, undertook the dance of heartlessness, he undertook a series of meetings for a month and a half on how to deceive these people.
How and why are businessmen to blame?
But why are businessmen to blame, when the prime minister has collected 8.2 billion euros from them.
8.2 billion euros, dear friends, are two budgets for 2008.
What is the fault of the businessmen here? To make the pensioners look at the businessmen with hatred and believe that they are the ones to blame and not the government. Cynical!
It's the fault of what we inherited, and what we inherited is this. Every pensioner knows, we found the minimum pension to be 36 euros, we increased it to 82 euros. We found the average pension to be 70 euros, we increased it to 105 euros.
Today, the average pension, because the euro was 140 lek, was not a narco-euro, at that time narco-euros did not make law in the economy, so in 12 years, today every pensioner receives 30 percent less if we also take into account the exchange rate.
The truth is that the prices of basic foods have increased, and are compared to prices in EU countries, from 10 to 250 percent higher.
Why aren't pensions increasing? Yes, it's a crime not to increase pensions.
How much does Montenegro have in pensions today? 310 percent more than we do. What does Montenegro have? It has a coast, which we have 10 times more, it has mountains, which we have much more, we have fields, they don't have fields, we have all kinds of minerals.
What does Montenegro have that one pensioner receives as much as 3 of our pensioners. 270 percent more is received by a Serbian pensioner. Everyone in 2013 received less than you. 280 percent more is received by a pensioner in Macedonia. Albin Kurti told pensioners 1 month ago, he will increase them by 20 percent. He took 100 million euros and took them to the pension fund. What about us with an 8 billion budget, for 780 thousand pensioners, what does the state suffer if it takes 800 million and takes them to the pension fund? How does he see these people? What does he consider them? People who talk to themselves that they can't make it through the month" , said Berisha.
The democratic leader, following the conversation, expressed "what will happen to Albania if the government decides to spend 800 million on the pension fund?"
" I'll tell you why this isn't being done, because for you, for pensioners, they have left 16 million euros, they have foreseen 17 million euros for next year."
Where do these go? These are stolen in the most ruthless way.
How are they being stolen? They are being stolen in road construction at prices 10 times higher than Croatia, which is the EU standard.
I've said it and I'll tell you 100 times, read it on Google, take the road in Croatia, Bjelosik-Manastir, 17 kilometers of road, 27 meters wide road, European standard, was built with 27 million euros. That's 1.6 million euros per km.
How much does it cost Edi Rama and Belinda Balluku to make per km? It costs between 15 and 32 million euros on the field.
"These people are crazy, they have no limits to their theft. That's why 80 percent of the budget goes to capital investments and capital theft," Berisha said.
Berisha continued, "A tender is held, for example, the Llogara tunnel, a company is offered 130 million euros, no, they say, it doesn't win. The tender is repeated, the company wins with 180 million euros, the same company that brought 130 million euros builds it. I tell you that absolutely every tender is done this way. You bring the offer and then we share it together. Then where is the rest for the pensioners? It becomes a joke if we increase the fund for the pensioners. This is extreme cynicism."