The destruction of the churches of Voskopoja/ Empty promises, no works for revival

2023-04-21 21:11:02, Denoncim CNA

The destruction of the churches of Voskopoja/ Empty promises, no works for

In January 2023, the show "Stop" on TV Klan raised the alarm about the restoration of the Church of Saint Michael in Voskopoja.

The uniqueness of Voskopojë are the churches, but out of 22 in the past, today only 8 are functional. For this problem, "Stop" went to the Directorate of National Culture Korçë and communicated with the director Edvis Koki who said that the project has been approved, but is in the procurement phase from the Albanian Development Fund.

The director said in January that within the month of March, the restoration process of these buildings would begin.

Edvis Koki: It was also referred to by us in terms of the problem. It is listed among the objects of the risk list, which are objects that have a priority need to intervene and together with three other objects in Voskopoja and Vithkuq. To my knowledge, it is in the procurement phase, because the procurement was done by another entity, it was done by the Albanian Development Fund through BEZH and very soon, I believe it is still in the procurement phase according to Albanian legislation. I believe that within the month of March, the restoration process of these objects, which also belong to the paths of faith, can begin.

According to "Stop" information, the reconstruction of the church would require a fund of 3 million new Lek. In fact, there are revitalization programs for cultural monument apartments, but according to the commanding director, the second call is now open for persons and individuals who are part of private apartments.

Commanding director: If the workers can board, now at this time it is not possible to intervene and open the roof in a period when it is snowing and raining. Opening the roof in this period brings greater problems . In the period of April it is foreseen.

The revitalization bonus, if you are talking about the revitalization bonus projects that are now open, the second call is for people and individuals who are part of the housing, which means they are private housing. We have a maintenance fund that is 8 million old Lek, and we anticipate having two districts, Korça and Elbasan, and for all these facilities. There are about 170 in Korça and 160 in Elbasan, and for all these facilities, it is assumed that there is a maintenance fund.

There is no fund for the restoration of this 300-year-old church and the institutions are forced to seek funds from foreign donors. 5 years ago, in 2017, the former Minister of Culture, Mirela Kumbaro, said that the churches of Voskopoja would be saved from degradation as they would be included in the reconstruction project worth 12 million new Lek. But the church of Saint Michael was not included in this project either.

Mirela Kumbaro in 2017: With an intervention of 12 million new Lek, we can say without fear that we have brought both of these churches out of danger, from cracks, from very heavy moisture, and accumulated over decades. We have launched a strategy that coincides with the Urban Renaissance, but already in this second term it will go towards what we have called the Rural Renaissance. We have to admit that the non-intervention for very long periods, decades in the structures of the churches, has brought moisture and depreciation of the wall paintings, which will be part of the second phase of the intervention.

The Directorate of National Culture says that only 4 churches were included in this fund.

"Stop" communicated again with the commanding director and she said that she was constantly being monitored, but the problem still exists.

Commanding director: We have actually sent 3 letters to the Albanian Development Fund for this part, but we do not have an official answer.

Journalist: You told me that the works start from the end of March due to time. Where did you get this information?

Commanding director: Because it was the part of the procedure that had started and it was a prediction. Our directorate was tasked with the design of the project and the continuous inspection of the object. The situation still remains the same. We have kept records for the facility. We have been working on the institute all this time. It is a very big concern for us as well./ tvklan