The government funded Kanye West’s concert, Marjana Koçeku responds: The 4 million euros should have been invested in fire prevention, the state and accountability cannot be replaced by spectacle

Former Socialist Party MP Marjana Koçeku has reacted to the 4 million euros the government provided for Kanye West’s concert, saying that the money should have gone toward fire prevention.

The lawmaker, who left the Socialist Party after the mass protests, says the government should have invested these 4 million euros to prevent fires and support residents, as the country risks facing the catastrophic situation of a year ago.

“Last year our country went through a fire catastrophe. I saw firsthand the extraordinary damage done to nature. This year the situation is expected to be even more alarming because of the high temperatures.

The 4 million euros for a one-time-use stadium should have been invested in fire prevention, in supporting residents, and in strengthening emergency capacities,” Koçeku writes.

In the end, she says ironically that the state and accountability cannot be replaced by spectacle, adding that, “the loss of nature is the loss of Albania.”

“The state and accountability cannot be replaced by spectacle. The loss of nature is the loss of Albania.”

Full statement:

Last year our country went through a fire catastrophe. I saw firsthand the extraordinary damage done to nature. This year the situation is expected to be even more alarming because of the high temperatures.

The 4 million euros for a one-time-use stadium should have been invested in fire prevention, in supporting residents, and in strengthening emergency capacities.

The state and accountability cannot be replaced by spectacle. The loss of nature is the loss of Albania.