Government of the Republic of Macedonia, at the session that took place day before yesterday, has brought decision for firing of the director of the Public Revenues Administration, Kiro Sonevski, the director of the Head office for legal-estate relations, Vencislav Efremov, the deputy secretary for economic relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dimitar Belchev, the deputy secretary for city planning in the Ministry for city planning, constructions and prevention of the living environment, Dragan Pacinov, the head state market inspector, Angel Nikolov, and the head state labour inspector, Vera Markova - reports Vecer.
This decision was revealed at yesterday's press conference by the Prime-minister Branko Crvenkovski, who announced the Government project for fighting the crime, the "grey" economy, and the corruption. This project, as it was stated by the Prime-minister, has the highest priority. The decision to fire these higher-up officials is taken on the basis of analysis, with which it was realized that the administrations which they managed "are not functioning on that level that would be adequate to the matters and problems which we face".
As a response to the journalists' question weather the suspicion of the involvement of the state officials will be supported by criminal charges, Prime-minister Crvenkovski said:
- In any situation and any case when it shows up that there are elements of illegal working, it is an obligation of the institutions to make charges.
With yesterday's appearance the prime-minister interrupted the several-days' speculations and assumptions of the names of the Government officials which will be on the "black list". Stating that the changes are a part of the Government project for fighting the crime and the corruption, Crvenkovski implicitly confirmed that under the formula "unsatisfying results in the working, actually, there are conceived suspicions for the involvement of some higher-up officials in corruption deals and crime.
Yesterday, the Prime-minister answered the dilemma which was imposed, too, regarding these changes: weather they don't confirm the leads for involvement of some higher-up officials in crime, publicly stated a year ago (because of them a Government official of higher rank was replaced than)? And how come so late the Government starts the purging action?
- We consider that it is about time to approach this problem in a much more complexed way and in a way that promises long-term results, said Crvenkovski, clearly suggesting that the previous treatment of the crime and corruption problems as a "on- going obligation" is not satisfying.
The "complexed approach", as it was announced by the Prime-minister, means adopting of a global Government programme for prevention of the crime in all forms and of several sub- programmes: for fighting the corruption in the administration and public institutions, for fighting the illegal drugs trade, for prevention from the organized crime and for preventing the money wash. All the laws and legal acts will be checked in order for the "black spots" to be identified, i.e those solutions which create an atmosphere themselves, and sometimes even encourage to brake the law. All the solutions which give the officials in the Government administration indirect rights will be checked too and there will be a mechanism of objectiveness and transparency in the decision making created. Under the magnifying glass will be the organizational attitude and the functioning of the administrations too, whose direct or indirect obligation is to provide legitimacy in the working.
The Government, as the Prime-minister said, will not wait until the programmes are ready, so the fight starts after that. Crvenkovski, yesterday, indirectly denied the speculations of the apparent discord in the Government, because in the "black lists" there is only Liberal Party's personnel. "All of the members of the Government declared their readiness to participate themselves in the realization of this project and to consistent realization without exemption", stated Crvenkovski.
Resistances and pressures, are still expected. The Prime-minister pointed out to some of them: mass protests in front of the Parliament, in which they demand that one of the existing laws (for preventing the "gray" economy) be not respected, and the possible appearance of the lobbies which will pressure the Government to stop the realization of the initiative. Crvenkovski asked for a support from the media too, for the realization of this Government project.
After the revealing of the project and the starting Government moves, it is left to wait for the eventual reactions by the headquarters of the coalition partners. Namely, the unofficial Government sources claim that the Monday session passed in a rough atmosphere - apparently the liberals demanded an adequate distribution of the "victims", but at the end they have resigned.
One more dilemma is left to hang on: the "journalists'"list of people and positions to "shoot down" was bigger than the one revealed by the Prime-minister. Thus, the rumors anticipate replacings in the Skopje's customs office, in the Head office for goods supplies, in the Employment Agency, in the Ministry of Culture... Instead of names, yesterday we only got an unofficial announcement that the Government action will have a second round too.
For months and years, it is a public secret that in this country you can get or realize not even one permit, location, job opening, import, export, offer, trading post, enrollment, write-off, note observation, unless previously the adequate Government official on the lowest, middle and high level - or all of them together - is not bribed, fed, given something to drink, bought off. Either that, or your goods will stay at the customs, your kid will not be enrolled in school, the location will be given to somebody else, your offer will fail or the inspector will give you such a bed time that you will regret that you haven't reached for your wallet or that you haven't done the contra-favour.
Result: the Government safe empty, complete legal insecurity of the citizens, people made to become criminals and to humiliate themselves in front of the counters and halls of different Government offices and institutions.
If we already lived to see VMRO-DPMNE joining in coalition with PDP, than it's clear that this country sails into quieter ideological waters, which offer bigger political stability for Macedonia. But, the parties in power do not have an assignment to be involved into ideology only. The different ministers in charge do not have an assignment to only describe the philosophical, political and the other theoretical contexts for the functioning of the country - their assignment is also to collect taxes, to charge customs on goods, to hunt criminals, to offer Macedonian citizens decent place to live, in which the competition for better life will be loyal. Without that, this country could fail anyway. The assignment is that much bigger, because this generation of Macedonian Government officials - from the lowest ones to the highest ones - has also historical, constitutional role. A country like Italy can surely survive the crime and the corruption of its administration. For Macedonia, it is a question!
After announcing the Government action public expectations are aroused, warmed up, hot. This kind of project for tidying the state can not be successful without a clear support of the public. That support is not going to be difficult to access, if the announced programme - for which the Prime- minister Crvenkovski himself is advocating - is, at first, brought to the end without protections and new corruptions of those who will have to hunt the corrupted, and second, if the whole procedure is public, transparent and persisting for each separate case which will be on the agenda. The Government should be trusted that it's determined to make it through these pledges. And finally, more than sure is that not all of the Government officials are corrupted or dishonest. But, now is the chance for all of them to clear their names.
Macedonian TV will be on disposal in order to support the announced Government programme. Finally, that is also our obligation serving the Macedonian public.
According to the words of the Finances Minister Jane Miljovski, who was on the head of the Macedonian delegation at the negotiations with the Parisian Club, an agreement for re- programing the Macedonian debt to this institution was achieved. Regarding the conditions of the re-programing the Minister Miljovski estimated them as satisfying.
According to the minister, the exact number of the received obligations is still not precise, because the information is still being collected from the creditors, but they are calculating with the figure of US$ 300 million, while in the next 3-4 years there should be obligations as high as another US$ 100 million.
Otherwise, the way of paying off the debt will be the following: the debt made before December 2, 1982, of around US$ 220 million will be re-programmed with a 15 year period of paying off and a grace-period of 6 years, while the debt made after this date of around US$ 70 million, which was supposed to be paid off by the end of March next year will be paid back with a 6 year period of paying off and a grace-period of 2 years. Penalty interests for the not-on-time paying back of the debt will be 1.5%.
The book of regulations which was made on June 28 by the EU, and with which the exportation of the textile products of the Macedonian textile industry, cotton yarns and fabrics is regulated, represents a barrier for the Macedonian textile.
In this specific case it comes to textile products which are being exported to Italy in big quantities. The EU Committee at its last meeting, put the Field Ministry in Rome in charge to allow the companies, buyers of the Macedonian textile products to import only 5 tons of each package, which is practically impossible if it's known that one truck load is 18 tons. With this kind of decision the price of the textile products is being increased by 6 times. According to the information, the Italian buyers reacted in the Field Ministry in Rome.
Only the Textile Plant "Makedonka" from Stip planned to export 3,800 tons of cotton fabrics and 650 tons of cotton products to Italy.
The director of the export textile company "Evroteks", Trajan Jakovlev, states that this decision represents putting to an end to the Macedonian textile products.
Till the end of this week the uncertainties in the first phase of the performing of the constructions works regarding the intersection of the railway tracks to Bulgaria with the gas line system should be cleared up. It is still not clear weather they'll be waiting on this, or it will be left for the next heating season. As it is known, the gas line and the railway tracks are intersecting at seven places in the length of 2 kilometers.
Until now there are measuring stations set up with 15 future consumers, while next week the setting up of another 5 measuring stations should start. According to the inspection during the constructions, done by the experts of "Makpetrol", which is the carrier of the project on the Macedonian side, the gas line in Bulgaria is going as planned.