Upon invading, Galeazzo Ciano hoped to reinforce an impression of benevolence with a number of initial gestures aimed more at public relations than at addressing any of Albania's profound social and economic problems. One of Ciano's first moves was to distribute food and clothing in some of the poor areas and to release political prisoners. He personally distributed 190,000 gold francs to the needy in Tirana, Shkodra, Vlora, Gjirokastra, Saranda, Korça and Kukes. Because the money was given to the poor, bypassing the usual bureaucracy, it did some good. The Italians also contributed greatly to infrastructure, agriculture, and chrome and hydrocarbon exploration in which Albania was rich. The Italians hoped that extensive investment in Albania would bring both economic and political benefits. Despite a weak domestic economy, Mussolini guaranteed the Albanians the sum of 22 million pounds over five years for economic development, considerably more than the 8.2 million Rome had spent since the early 1920s. Initial reports of the Italian activity were quite favourable. Ruth Mitchell commented at the end of April 1939, "What a great improvement there is in the condition of the people already. The whole atmosphere had become brisker and more enterprising; now at least there is hope." Even the German minister Eberhard von Pannwitz, who was perpetually critical of the Italians, commented favorably on the Italian tempo, which he likened to the tempo in Austria after the "Anschluss". The new construction projects brought in large amounts of capital and employed many Albanians. The government began letting Italians take technical positions in Albania's civil service, and also began allowing Italian settlers to enter Albania. This largely affected the Albanians' attitude towards the Italian invaders and the locals greeted them with more respect and liking.