IMF: “Boycott and protests increase uncertainty for the economy”

“The boycott of the Albanian opposition, public protests and their declarations increase the level of political uncertainty. The economy has held well so far, but a long political crisis would create uncertainty and would encourage businesses and citizens to be more careful before spending their investments”, declared Jens Reinke, IMF Chief in Tirana.

The IMF values that the Albanian economy has produced good news, especially the past year, but everything seems to be overshadowed by the political developments.

But is the economic growth assisted by illegal activities, such as cannabis plantations? The IMF answers for the first time:

“We don’t have any number, but many observers agree that Albania has a huge informal economy. Some of it could be just tax evasion, but, as in every other country, there could be from illegal activities. Some of the international community say this has increased, but I cannot say much about the illegal part. We read news about cannabis and other illegal activities, but those are not included in economic statistics, and we cannot promote them”, Reinke said.

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