Hotel Tirana International, February 17, 2003,
Honorable Mr. Minister,
Distinguished representatives of the World Bank,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the pleasure to be present and to open the seminar of the road safety in Albania. The subject of the today debate is important twice important, because the road safety is closely linked with the human life of the Albanian citizens, one of the major assets of the society.
It is directly linked with the social and economic development of the country, with its present and the future. For these reasons, the initiative of organizing such activities, is at the right time and most welcomed.
Distinguished participants,
I will not speak about the great number of fatalities and injuries in road accidents, nor the human suffering and its social impact that they bring with them. Such losses of human lives for a country like Albania, are tragic and above any limit.
This why, I would like to stress the fact that processes like overcoming the transition stage and progressing toward market economy and free society, fulfilling of obligations resulting from the stabilization-association process in EU, and entering in the road of a sustainable development, could not be understood without increasing and improving the safety of human life, important part of which, is the road safety.
Among the factors which have an impact in the lack of safety in national and local road networks, I would mention, greater lack of safety in national roads because of demographic migration and government institutions being not able to establish and adopt required standards, significant increase of vehicles fleet in a road network not prepared to respond to development trends, low level of public information and awareness about the risk of not following traffic regulation, especially in national roads, lack of clear policies regarding new technologies, production, fuel being used, deficiencies and corruptive practices in respect to technical control, and other aspects of road safety which are directly linked with the professional level of the traffic police.
I regret to say that our traffic police has many deficiencies starting with the lack of professionalism and ending up to the high level of corruption.
Thus, it is now the time for, instead of institutional chaos, effective long-term policies being implemented, and responsive institutions, following western countries models, being established.
Human life losses and increase of poverty, because of lack of road safety must be in the focus of Albanian Government and its responsible institutions. Our citizens and society do not expect from us that the number of accidents becomes zero. This would be an illusion. But all of them expect that the safety in our roads be significantly increased.
Important part of actions to be taken, should be increase of investments related to improvement, widening and modernizing the road infrastructure. Central government in cooperation with local government, should intervene with pilot programs, in order to improve actual situation in some of the most problematic areas, like those urban areas through which pass railway lines, or national roads, and especially highways.
Road Safety is related also with the grave situations of the floods, as it happened during last autumn. Only few days of heavy rains were enough to demonstrate the bad quality of investments made in national roads, in drainage systems and bridges. Better supervision and taking of preventive measures, should be a another priority of the responsible institutions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This seminar of today, with the ideas, opinions and proposals about the new programs of the road safety, could give a valuable help.
Profiting from this occasion I would like to express my gratitude for the support given by the World Bank, in this aspect. At the same time, I would like to emphasize the importance, that our common commitments for the increase of sustainable safety of human life and better education of the communities to respect it. It is time that government and its structures as a whole, citizens and especially drivers, have better knowledge and fully respect the law and regulation.
I confirm my institutional and personal willingness to encourage and support every positive action in the framework of a better road safety.
I wish you a successful seminar!
Thank you!