MILS: News from the FYROM, 97-01-22

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From: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>

CONTENTS

[01] NAME NEGOTIATIONS COMMENCED IN NEW YORK YESTERDAY

[02] `KNOW-HOW' FUND TO AID ATTRACTING OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

[03] US MILITARY EXPERTS IN MACEDONIA

[04] ON RUSSIAN-MACEDONIAN COOPERATION ON A FOREIGN OFFICE LEVEL

[05] MACEDONIA IN `PHARE' PROGRAMMES ON COUNTERING DRUG ABUSE

[06] SUPREME COURT NO RULING ON PAYMENT OF 400 MILLION DM TO PENSIONERS

[07] FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS PROMOTES ALLIANCE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

[08] DNEVNIK: `HEALTH DEPT. DOES NOT STICK TO THE DEAL'

[09] UNIVERSITY REPRESENTATIVES AND MPS TO DISCUSS `PF' BILL

[10] PDP: `PDPA BENDS ELECTION LAW INTO ITS OWN FAVOUR'

[11] PDPA: `PDP TO BLAME FOR CONTINUOUS PROVOKING OF ALBANIAN ELECTORATE

[12] DEMENTI: `PDPA/NDP' FACTION NOT TO REJOIN PARLIAMENT

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[13] `Control Over Monopolies Lacking' (`Vecher' - 21st January 1997)

MILS NEWS

Skopje, 22 January, 1997

[01] NAME NEGOTIATIONS COMMENCED IN NEW YORK YESTERDAY

[02] `KNOW-HOW' FUND TO AID ATTRACTING OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

Stuart Lang has also bee received by the Director General of MTV and the Macedonian Radio, Slobodan Trajkovski. This meeting focused on exchanging experience on collaboration achieved so far, on staff training and the receiving of expert assistance with respect to different domains covered by this Fund. Another thing indicated were future fields of activity of the `Know-How' Fund as regards transformation and modernization of public broadcasting in Macedonia.

[03] US MILITARY EXPERTS IN MACEDONIA

In addition to this the visiting US experts are to inspect several units and facilities of the Mac. Armed Forces during their stay. MTV reports that is the main objective of the US Defense Dept. team to assess military training, equipment and defence potentials of the Armed Forces of Macedonia - besides compiling recommendations on military cooperation between the US and Macedonia.

[04] ON RUSSIAN-MACEDONIAN COOPERATION ON A FOREIGN OFFICE LEVEL

Besides this it has been underlined that collaboration should be improved in countering drug trafficking, arms dealing and organised crime.

[05] MACEDONIA IN `PHARE' PROGRAMMES ON COUNTERING DRUG ABUSE

According to `Katimerini' Katlamanis had raised this issue once it had been stated that international sources in Skopje had registered a vast number of illegal drug laboratories (for refining opium into heroin), and that about 20 000 drug addicts would emerge in Macedonia by the year 2000. Upon this Commissioner Van Den Bruck added that this decision had been adopted once PHARE representatives in Macedonia had gathered data on drug abuse in Macedonia, and that cooperation between the UN and the EU Commission was about to be established in order to ensure that this issue is primarily addressed on an NGO and local authorities level.

[06] SUPREME COURT NO RULING ON PAYMENT OF 400 MILLION DM TO PENSIONERS

[07] FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS PROMOTES ALLIANCE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

The press has also been informed of the fact that up to now the FITU has app. 2 000 construction workers in its ranks, with the smallest fraction of this figure falling off to engineers - who should support the blue-collar labour component.

Yesterday's press conference was attended by a representative of the `Mavrovo' construction contractor as well; he revealed that strikes are still in progression at this firm and that they are to continue until all posed demands have been fulfilled.

[08] DNEVNIK: `HEALTH DEPT. DOES NOT STICK TO THE DEAL'

The former has reallocated 16.9 million dollars for this project in Macedonia; the Government is to provide 2.5 million dollars and the entire project is to cost app. 19.4 million dollars. Reforms within the health sector in Macedonia have been officially commenced in December last year, and they are to prioritize primary health care, i.e. the equipping of 250 medical stations in rural communities - in addition to affirming immunization and prevention programmes on TBC, AIDS and promoting blood donorship. Reforms also include the retirement of at least 200 doctors employed in the public health sector, or their transfer into the private sector.

[09] UNIVERSITY REPRESENTATIVES AND MPS TO DISCUSS `PF' BILL

The government official had been forwarded the conclusions adopted by the Senate during its last session, with the request to convey them to the remaining members of parliament. During talks the university delegation brought forth the initiative to enact the Law on Tertiary Education which is to address all higher education issues in Macedonia in their entirety. Chairman Petkovski accepted the request of university representatives to be invited to attend Commission debates actively with respect to the proposed enactment of legal provisions codifying the language-issue at the Pedagogical Faculty (PF) `St. Clement of Ohrid' in Skopje within a draft-bill. These discussions have been scheduled for the beginning of next week.

[10] PDP: `PDPA BENDS ELECTION LAW INTO ITS OWN FAVOUR'

`Whereas we are demanding stricter control to facilitate the implementation of the law, PDPA requests the absence of police, threatening the Election Commission, Election Councils and PDP members at the same time.' spokesperson Naser Ziberi further emphasized that his party would not avoid political battle, particularly not in a climate favouring their candidate. While expressing his unhappiness regarding the above mentioned incident and worsened inter-human relations, he welcomed the appeal of DP leader Tomislav Stojanovski to stage a meeting of all Tetovo mayor candidates at this town.

[11] PDPA: `PDP TO BLAME FOR CONTINUOUS PROVOKING OF ALBANIAN ELECTORATE

It has been stated that the most recent casualty of the utterly instrumentalised PDP has been the Chair of the PDP Operational Election HQ Ernad Feizulahu who had been hit on the back with a metal bar last Sunday by `the organised PDP goon-gangs' and entities within the `gray Macedonian circles' in order to `rub salt into the Albanian wounds'.

The manner in which this attack has been carried out implies that it has been a premeditated act of physical and political terminating within unpredictable ranges... stated PDPA representatives, underlining that the responsibility for the permanent irritating of the Albanian electorate and for all other historical mistakes will have to be born by the PDP.

With regards to the meeting initiated by DPM leader Tomislav Stojanovski, PDPA spokesperson Alaydin Demiri stated that this was humiliating to the Albanian ethnicity, which is why PDPA representatives would not attend it.

[12] DEMENTI: `PDPA/NDP' FACTION NOT TO REJOIN PARLIAMENT

Tuda's words have been assessed as a personal opinion by Demiri, as the former supposedly had failed to consult the remaining members of this faction. Demiri continued that his party did not see why the boycott should be suspended, as none of the faction's demands have been fulfilled so far - nor has Parliamentary Chairman Tito Petkovski exhibited any interest in the motives for this measure, which has been implemented by the PDPA/NDP faction over the past 6 months - whereas PDPA leader Arben Dzhaferi has a boycott accruement of over a year. So far, from within the PDPA ranks, MP Rufi Osmani has returned his mandate.

Currently he is serving the latter as the mayor of Gostivar. Sali Ramadani has launched his nomination for mayor of Kichevo by his own choosing and initiative, which will entail the discussion of his further association to this party these days. This also applies to Hisein Shakiri who attended a parliamentary session on his own authorization. It is expected that the NDP is also to debate session attendance and statements by Rami Tuda and Zekir Kadriu.

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[13] `Control Over Monopolies Lacking'

(`Vecher' - 21st January 1997)

National regulations are needed to cover `natural' monopolies such as: telecommunications, railway transportation, etc. Of 28 countries in transition Macedonia and three more Former Soviet Republics still do not have passed a Law on Competitiveness... thus there are many instances on incorrect business practice in our country...

The political and economic independence our country has obtained, was conducive to a high level of monopolizing emerging within our economy. According to certain analyses one company provides the entire share of the `GNP cake' within 12 economic branches, whereas 70% of production are being covered by two companies in app. 13 branches.

Relations determined in such a manner may entail negative consequences which manifest themselves in increased service charges and consumer prices of products manufactured by these `monopolies' - without offering the corresponding improvement in quality. This, above all, applies to `naturally' formed infrastructural monopolies, as for example: telecommunications, railway transportation, electricity production and supply, water supply, radio broadcast networks, etc. These are, ergo sectors requiring huge investments - which is why establishing parallel systems is unprofitable / unsustainable from a social perspective.

Due to the deficiency exhibited by the market in terms of efficiently (re-) allocating funds, and in terms of countering the abuse of the monopolizing status of large companies - the role of the state (particularly in countries undergoing transition) has become inevitable within the economic sector. State regulations in market economy countries, however, is not only encountered within the above mentioned domains.

It surfaces in other economic fields as well, where there is an oligopolic market structure in which the offer is being covered by several large businesses. In such cases the state implements an `anti-monopoly' and `anti- trust' policy consisting of countering unwanted activity, such as: price coordination and market division, price discrimination and procedures involving the merging and take-over of smaller businesses - which is conducive to a decrease in competition.

In addition to this, though Macedonia is already `up to its neck' in transition processes, the Law on Competitiveness has not yet been passed... as is the case with the Law Against Monopolies. Of a total of 28 countries in transition, our country and three more Former Soviet Republics have not yet enacted appropriate legal provisions concerning these subjects.

For this delay there are several `alibi-theories' in circulation. All of them above all allude to the fact that Macedonia is a small country, and that several companies (due to conditions naturally generated by the disintegration, i.e. the loss of markets within the Former Yugoslav Federation) are bound to have found themselves in a position of monopoly. It has been recommended the opening of the economy towards the international market would exert pressure on those companies to engage in fair business practice.

This is, nevertheless, only partially true: if one bears in mind the necessity of increasing the level of trade between well-developed European countries and Macedonia, it becomes quite clear that the purchasing capacity of our population is far behind that of developed countries. It therefore cannot pose a challenge to economic entities of these countries... states Trajko Slavevski, reader at the Faculty of Economy.

`In the meantime', the latter claims `it may occur that certain Macedonian firms - including those exposed to dominant competition on the domestic level - do not survive that kind of stroke and pass away.'

Examples for unfair business practice in our country can be encountered anywhere. What is particularly worrisome is the exploitative relation towards dependent economic subjects through so-called `regulated-sale' agreements. A very illustrative example for this is the sale of shares of the Skopje City Centre, following the obvious debacle of initial sales tactics, which transcended into the `blackmail' of those interested in purchasing business premises, as the latter were being bullied into buying three shares per square metre.

Another pictorial example is the Hotel `Kontinental' case.

This facility has set up an English-language display at Skopje Airport - crooning praises into its own favour as the best hotel in the city - in spite of the fact that there are no clear indicators for this sort of classification. One more surrogate to this are the most varying surveys or proclamation of the `best of the year' type, starting off with cars and including just about anything... Yet one more instance of unfair business practice could include the impartial allocating of loans by banks, where businesses are being `encouraged' to buy shares (usually 10% of the overall credit) - Slavevski continues.

This implies that one of the many laws prerequisite to a successful functioning of the market is of course the Law Against Monopoly, or the Law on Competitiveness. The mere fact that almost all countries in transition have enacted legal provisions covering these issues, annuls the thesis that one should regulate the market as little as possible throughout the period of transition in order to benefit small and medium size businesses which are being severely affected by unfair business practice, employed by monopolizing suppliers and distributors. This would counter the abuse of monopoly status and be conducive to increased efficiency on a macro and micro level. According to the announcements made by several ministers in our country, these legal provisions should be passed throughout the second half of 1997.

(end)

mils news 22 January 1997

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