The Municipality will present doubling the water price for Tirana families in 2018.

Without any noticeable improvement of the water network in Tirana and while 67.6% of the water is not paid for, mayor Veliaj proposes a water price increase of 44%, nearly doubling the water bill for Tirana families in 2018. The capital municipality will present on the next meeting of Municipal Council meetingthe new prices which are expected to increase to ALL 65/m3 from 45/m3 that the citizens pay actually, Higher prices are predicted even for the businesses. From ALL 135/m3 they will pay ALL 190/m3. The municipality claims that nearly a doubling of the water tariff for families, will bring the coverage to 100% in Tirana and 72% in the rural communities. None of these documents has been made public. This decision is not supported by any form of analysis, strategy, or project that has been presented to the public. Municipality has to provide complete transparency about the management and financial situation at the UKT, as well as its activities and business strategy. This is a decision that will affect hundreds of thousands of families living in Tirana. The UKT responsible for water and drainage infrastructure, is drowned under unpaid and overdue debts. Audit Institution (KLSH) published a report, that accusing the UKT of financial mismanagement. The UKT has been mismanaged for years and up to 2016 the UKT had no business plan, no complete maps of its infrastructure. The UKT, actually makes an annual profit. In 2016, the UKT made a profit of €5 million, even though it was able to only invoice 22% of the actual water users. 78% of the citizens of Tirana did not pay their water bill. Actually the Municipality of Tirana has taken up water management not only Tirana area, but also includes zones like Kashar and sewage of the villages. Mayor Veliaj claimed that the price hike was necessary to make new investments on the Astir zone in Kashar, where there is no water infrastructure. Mayor Veliaj claimed that the the price increase would allow the municipality to receive credit from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank, which would be invested in the city’s aged water infrastructure. To try to build water supply and drainage system with income taken from a water price increase is scandalous act. These are infrastructural investments that ought to be covered by the government’s investment funds and not by rising water prices for only those 22% of citizens who regularly pay bills. This suggestion is expected togenerate harsh debates during the Municipal Council meeting that will take place next Wednesday. While citizens of Tirana will protest against the drastic water price increase. The monthly tariff paid by the families will also change. Currently every family pays a sum of ALL loo as fixed tariff while the suggestedtariff is ALL 200. Albania will have to wait for a long time before it settles its long-standing water supply issue due to the huge investments needed in the dilapidated distribution system. Tirana has an average of 10 hours of water supply a day and less than 50% of the rural communities in Tirana have access to running water. Only three towns in south-eastern Albania, Korça, Pogradec and Librazhd offer uninterrupted water supply thanks to investments by foreign donors.