Government and business: Prizëm panel discusses ARMO crisis

The show Prizem hosted by Alexander Furxhi and attended by a panel of businessmen, union leaders and analysts discussed the business climate in Albania, the attitude of the outgoing government and expectations from the left government.

While some selective stances that the right government has shown were criticized, while the focus was on the ARMO Company and the situation that has been created there in the last two weeks.

The company’s legal adviser said that in four years there has been a constant effort to propel the company to a freeze.

“It Is not just a fine from the Tax Administration, which would lead the company in this situation and it would also lead to a total freeze of the company’s activity. I’m not questioning the legal timing which has no legal basis in none of the specified sections of the Code of Tax Procedure, so it can justify any blocking of the activity. There are other steps to be taken in case of a debt to the Tax Office. There is a cooperation agreement which was never supported. The essence of this whole situation is that the government does not want and will not realize and sing a deal with ARMO company to settle the deadlock. This is a situation that can very easily be unblocked if the government would have shown some cooperation to decide on and resolve those issues which we have more than 4 years that are exchanging correspondence with relevant ministries, up to the Prime Minister, and which deal with legislative malicious changes, directly affecting and preventing the normal activity of ARMO company,” Edlira Cimbi said.

This attitude of certain state structures was criticized by Luan Bregasi, President of Business Albania and Elizabeta Katiaj, manager of the company Albo Germania Energy.

“I am absolutely supportive of this business and all private enterprises that despite all the difficulties they are facing, despite the problems that may have in certain relationships. This attitude from the government is absolutely reprehensible and absolutely is not in line with the good desire that private enterprises have, despite small guarantees that we have to invest in this country. The state cannot hold selective, specific and blowing positions against a venture that keeps three thousand people at work. From the social point of view, this is senseless,” Luan Bregasi said.

“You can never be given a fine of such a sum. We’ve experienced this year a mafia fining state, not an elected state. These are absurdities, fining a company so you can lead it to bankruptcy,” Elizabeta Katiaj said.

Kol Nikolla of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania said that this is a situation that should the intervention of the president.

“Those who undertake such initiatives are making a crime against the country. The President of Republic shall take measures through the National Intelligence Service, through the Ministry of Economy, so that this strategic product continues its operation,” Nikolla said.

Analyst Andrea Stefani said that what is happening with the ARMO company is an attempted robbery of private property.

“Here we are dealing with an intention – we are dealing with what I would call predatory intelligence of certain segments in power, who covet this privatized sector. It is a private property, and they want to rob it by asphyxiating it. All the facts point to this conclusion. This is a matter of great corruption. It’s not simply a matter of misgovernment. It’s a big issue of corruption and robbery. Here there is no tolerance, but here there is a fierce desire to asphyxiate and unjustly appropriate a healthy private property which actually should be used as required by the law and to the best of Albanian citizens,” Stefani said.

All the guests on the panel had one and only request for the new government: to establish a just relationship with the business.

“I hope that the next government will bear in mind this problem and will it take into consideration. It is a problem that in these four years, ARMO has been fined with taxes and duties that do not belong to it; it has seen a flagrant rise in excise and taxes in 6 months, one year and then in two years, which has made the company to not operate,” Cimbi said.

“I think that now it is time for the winning coalition to apply all the promises it made to private enterprises. Specifically this year, business has not only received what they were promised by others, i.e. politics, but they also brought to the table its product, its proposals, which are more realistic and possible to be implemented than those proposed and promised by the political parties. These probably should be sanctioned in a contract or an agreement,” Bregasi said.

“We expect from the next government to be correct. It should make a tripartite agreement involving business, trade-unions and government, for a two or three year term to establish a social peace, not a fake one,” Nikolla said.

“The next government should know how to set new relation with business based on the law and justice,” Stefani said.

Certain state structures are arbitrarily blocking since two weeks the activity of ARMO Company leaving without salaries three thousand workers.

This deadlock situation is also causing incalculable losses to the company.

TV Albanian Screen, 25.07.2013