Top Story, who gets rich with Bulqiza’s chrome?

21/11/2017 11:20

There are more than 35 companies operating in Bulqiza’s chrome mines, yet its residents have remained poor. Why Bulqiza citizens cannot benefit from the rich mineral? Who is getting rich of it and why governments don’t have the will to make a better distribution of the millions that lay beneath their homes?

This matter was discussed by Top Story guests: Perparim Spahiu, MP of the Socialist Movement for Integration; Samir Mane, businessman; Mehmet Hasanlami, Director of Mines at the Ministry of Energy; Agron Gjekmarkaj, an analyst.

Gjekmarjaj declared that the real Bulqiza is not the one shown by pictures on social networks, which chose some selected corners to convey those messages. However, the working children show the poverty and how the government is to be blamed for not managing the natural resources badly. Besides that, Gjekmarkaj said that the PPP projects chosen by the government are the most corrupted ones.

Perparim Spahiu from the SMI party of the opposition says that the government has not been able to manage this wealth, making the situation of miners more difficult.

The Director of Mines at the Ministry of Industry, Mehmet Hasanlami, declared that development in Bulqiza is real and what was shown on the Iene has nothing to do with reality. He accused MP Spahiu of showing a worse situation of Bulqiza for political interests, and Gjekmarjak of not knowing the situation on the terrain.

The children filmed by the Italian media, according to Hasanlami, are farther from the approved mines. “It’s not pure mineral, but if you search, you can find mineral. No working miner takes his kids to collect chrome.

Businessman Samir Mane, the owner of the AlbChrome Company, which manages the Bulqiza Mine, said, that there have been many investments to the mine, although they took it in very difficult conditions.

“We have 1000 workers with the Chinese company. Our important elements are security and investments that prolong the mine’s life to 30 years. This was the first request. The highest salary for miners 87,000 ALL, and there are contributions to food and other stuff. The fund of payments is almost 1 million USD a year. The total investment value mounts up to 34 million USD and it will go to 55 million by 2021. There is another 14 million USD investment for the mine’s ventilation”, Mane said.

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