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MILS: News from the FYROM, 97-04-25Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS SUPPLEMENTMILS NEWSSkopje, 25 April, 1997[01] STATE TO LOAN FUNDS FOR RESTITUTION WITHOUT INTEREST RATESPart of the embezzled savings deposits of `TAT' bank clients (Bitola), `ALFA-S' (Skopje) and `Lavci' (Ohrid) are to be restituted earlier via interest-free loans from the state - the Macedonian Government decided during its extra-ordinary session two days ago. To this purpose - as Macedonian Finance Minister Taki Fiti claimed at yesterday's press conference - the state is to allocate 20 million DM and each household with savings at these banks will be forwarded a maximum of 500 DM monthly over the next half year. This is to bridge the gap until the litigation mass (of these three banks) is determined, and client restitution commenced. In the opinion of Minister Fiti these 20 million DM will be procured through the following three sources: surplus funds remaining after the settling of dues with the NBM amounting to 150 million denars (5.5 million DM); form the NBM Basic Means Fund 160 million denars (6 million DM) are to be provided and another 230 million denars (8.5 million DM) are to be obtained from the National Budget. The latter is to yield these funds after increasing the rate of acquiring withheld tax, selling state property and allocating revenue generated by nationally-owned enterprises.The main objective of this legal concept advocated by the Government, conducive to the defusing of social tensions, is the restitution of the main capital without accrued interest rated. In this context Minister Fiti stated that the state should `patch up the hole' of 1.7 million DM created by the `TAT' banking scandal, while in the case of `ALFA-S' and `Lavci' incurred damage is to be neutralized completely, by restituting all assets of both banks. Minister Fiti further stressed that the draft-bill of the Government regulating part of the bank client restitution and the initiating of bankruptcy procedures refers to only those three banks mentioned, as they had been in possession of working permits granted by the NBM. Based on data brought forward by NBM Governor Borko Stanoevski, the overall liabilities of the `TAT' Bank amount to 94.7 million DM which may be reduced down to a capital share of 48.7 million after subtracting all interest rates. Assets of the same bank have been estimated to app. 37 million DM. This sum however needs to be verified in terms of market value of real estate property gained through mortgages. Dues of the `ALFA-S' Bank towards its clients - Stanoevski says - amount to around 5.8 million DM, while the `Lavci' affair entailed the damage of 4 million DM. Besides this - Finance Minister Taki Fiti states - the draft-bill to credit the restitution of bank clients does not apply to those clients or credit beneficiaries of the `TAT' bank who had been granted unrealistic interest rates. In addition to this holders of deposits over 50 000 DM in these banks will have to submit evidence of their origin in case they apply for partial restitution by the Government. The draft-bill outlined during this marathon extra-ordinary session, it has been announced yesterday, will find itself on the Agenda of the next Parliamentary session. In the end the Macedonian Finance Minister revealed that a new legal option would be offered to those in possession of frozen hard currency deposits, after the Easter holidays and 1st May. In this context he said that almost 36 million DM of the Budget would be allocated for this purpose. [02] `TAT' OWNER SONJA NIKOLOVSKA TO DEFEND HERSELF OUTSIDE PRISONUpon request of the Defence Counsellours of `TAT' owner and director Sonja Nikolovska, to release their client from prison - the accused has been allowed by the Bitola Elementary Court to defend her case outside police custody. This has been made possible after the bail of 1.1 million DM had been submitted to the Court by relatives and friends of Nikolovska. Should the DA's Office fail to appeal this decision, Nikolovska should be released today.[03] MINISTER VLADO POPOVSKI APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF INTELLIGENCE AGENCYThe President of the Republic Kiro Gligorov has appointed incumbent Justice Secretary Vlado Popovski as the new Director of the Macedonian Intelligence Agency. The press release issued by the Presidential Cabinet praises Popovski as a renowned scholar in the field of historical science, a successful university reader at the Faculty of Law and a capable Secretary of Defence.[04] SWEDISH SECRETARY OF STATE IN MACEDONIAThis Thursday Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov received the Secretary of State of the Foreign Office of the Kingdom of Sweden, Jan Elliasson. Talks with this Swedish statesman revolved around regional conditions and the role of Macedonia in the latter as a factor of stability.Official records state that President Gligorov has once again stressed the firm commitment of Macedonia to complete incorporation into Euro-Atlantic integration procedures. The Swedish official has also met PM Branko Crvenkovski, who mainly discussed modes of improving bilateral cooperation (esp. in terms of economy) with his guest. MTV reports that talks with Defence Secretary Blagoj Handzhiski focused on the commitment of Macedonia to obtain an extension of the UNPREDEP mandate after 31st May. [05] LJUBOMIR FRCHKOVSKI IN POLANDYesterday the Macedonian Head of Diplomacy Ljubomir Frchkovski embarked on a two-day visit of Poland, upon invitation of his Polish counterpart Dariusz Rossati.Frchkovski is also to be received by Polish President Alexander Kwaszniewsky and other political figureheads. This visit follows Frchkovski's attendance of the session of the UN European Economy Commission in Geneva, `Makpress' reports. [06] MACEDONIAN FEEDBACK ON STATEMENT MADE BY BULGARIAN PRESIDENT STOJANOVFollowing the statement made by Bulgarian President Petar Stojanov in front of the Council of Europe Assembly in Strasbourg (`On the Historical Romanticism Entertained by Bulgaria with Respect to Macedonia...') two days ago, Macedonian representatives aired severe objections to this kind of behaviour... `Such inflexible views imposes the conclusion that incumbent Bulgarian authorities see Macedonia as a country without its own historical past, which again implies that Macedonia is lacking a collective identity.'The Macedonian delegation in Strasbourg further supports the Bulgarian opinion that bilateral dialogue needs to be based on European standards, but without `the all too familiar prejudice' transcending into the present from the past era. The Head of the delegation, Nikola Popovski, stated in an interview for A-1 TV that Stojanov had given a statement crudely violating the office of the Bulgarian President. In his opinion Stojanov has attempted to `strong-arm' European MPs into believing that the history of Macedonia represents `the most romantic part of the Bulgarian historic part.' The Macedonian delegation evaluates this as one more attempt by Stojanov to undermine bilateral negotiations at the very beginning of his mandate. Exalted by the election campaign, the Bulgarian President resorted to a recipe for domestic use only - Popovski stated, adding that such views complicated entering a dialogue with incumbent Bulgarian authorities. In his opinion Macedonia will have to be extremely prudent upon doing so in the future. A-1 TV also reports that the Public Prosecutors of both countries, Ivan Tatarchev (BG) and Stevan Pavlevski (MK) met in Skopje yesterday, though no precise information on the contents of these talks were revealed. `Makpress' informed that the visit of Tatarchev was of a private nature, in order to ensure the preservation of his grandparents' house (near Resen), a historical monument old 200 years. [07] MACEDONIAN RADIO: `APPETITES A LA SAN STEPHANO AND BULGARIAN CHAUVINISM REKINDLED ONCE AGAIN'`Newly-elected Bulgarian President Petar Stojanov who among other things based his election victory on a pro- European orientation, succeeded in stripping of the mask of Bulgaria's long-term policy towards Macedonia during his first address of the Council of Europe. A political strategy based on appetites a la San Stephano and Bulgarian megalomania', states the commentary of the Macedonian Radio in view of the most recent statements made by the Bulgarian Head of State. It is also being said that Stojanov has not managed to grow beyond historical frustration, whereas on `Road to Europe' it will become quintessential for him to transcend `Balkan historical romanticism'. In spite of the fact that Stojanov denies the existence of a Macedonian minority, European MPs seem not to have forgotten that Bulgaria had been part of the fascist forces during WW 2 while Macedonia had been fighting on the side of `the good guys' - the Macedonian Radio concludes its comment.[08] SEPARATE ALBANIAN PARLIAMENTARY AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ON KOSOVOIbrahim Rugova, Leader of the Kosovo Democratic Alliance, is most likely to announce separate Albanian Parliamentary and Presidential elections on Kosovo - Belgrade paper `Nedelen Telegraf' reports. This is being attributed to the fact that Rugova had obtained the approval of the Chairpersons of the Democratic Alliance Councils throughout Kosovo during preceding meetings. Election should be staged towards the end of May this year, five years after the first separate elections of Albanians on Kosovo.[09] `THUMBS-UP' FOR EAST-WEST CORRIDORA-1 TV reports that during their regular meeting, the EU transportation ministers have given their approval to corridor No. 8 (the East-West corridor), which would connect Albania to Bulgaria via Macedonia. The North- South corridor, which would reach the Greek port of Igumenica, has been put on a waiting list and the EU transportation ministers are to decide its implementation at the Annual Pan-European Conference in Helsinki. According to the Macedonian Deputy Transportation Minister Branko Petkovski, Macedonia has signed treaties with Austria and Switzerland regulating the transit of cargo vehicles at the Berlin meeting, thus obtaining a total of 184 CEMT transportation permits based on different criteria.[10] GOODS FOR ALBANIA TO BE PROCESSED AT CUSTOMS TERMINAL IN OHRIDThis Thursday the Directors of the Customs Services HQs of Albania and Macedonia met in Skopje, upon request of the Albanian officials. It has been agreed to put the Ohrid Customs Terminal at the disposal of Albanian Customs Services - the Macedonian Radio reports - in order to facilitate the transfer of goods into this country.Financial matters with respect to this agreement are to be handled via `Stopanska Banka' of Skopje. [11] LEATHER PROCESSING INDUSTRY CONFRONTED WITH LOSSES IN SPITE OF INCREASED PRODUCTIONIn spite of the fact that over the last year the production within the leather processing industry grew by 17.3%, this industrial branch still has to cope with constant generating of losses and emerging of problems - the Association of this industrial sector concluded during its session yesterday. The high customs duties charged upon import of raw materials, the non-functioning of the `duties refunding' principle (based on the criterion import incurred by export production), the fact that the production process is being stifled by irrationally high tax and contribution rates, the unfavourable terms under which liquids are being procured, etc. are only some of the problems burdening this industry. In order to resolve these conditions an urgent meeting with Government officials - expected to yield efficient measures to protect production - has been requested.[12] OWNERSHIP TRANSFORMATION BROUGHT TO A CLOSEDuring yesterday's Consultative Session at the Macedonian Privatization Agency it has been pointed out that the ownership transformation with regards to almost 1 000 companies in Macedonia (with app. 160 000 employees and an estimated value of over 2 billion DM) has almost been brought to a close, i.e. that it is expected to be completed by the end of this year. MTV reports that participants stressed to what considerable extent the structure of Macedonian economy had already changed, as two thirds of overall revenue fell off to the private sector. It had also been revealed that of this portion, over 70% was generated by privatized companies, which were accountable for only 30% of overall losses. Privatization procedures have been initiated in the sectors of agriculture, telecommunications and several other domains excepted from the initial stages of economic privatization. In terms of international capital it has been concluded that its presence was far below the expected.[13] RADIO-BROADCASTING BILL ADOPTEDFollowing the two-days of Parliamentary discussion, the Radio-Broadcasting Bill has been adopted with 59 votes in favour and one abstention. MTV reports that yesterday's debates focused on more than 100 submitted amendments, though a very small number of them were actually adopted.The most disputed issue though referred to the value of the radio- broadcasting fee, which resulted in the ratification of an amendment submitted by 14 SDSM representatives, according to which it is to amount to 2.5% (instead of the initial 3%) of the average net income. The fee is also to be incorporated into the electricity bill. Another adopted amendment had been submitted by SPM leader Ljubisav Ivanov. Concordant to this provision broadcasting concessions may be granted to a commercial broadcasting enterprise in the country if it procures ratings of at least 70% of the entire population, instead of the initially proposed 70% of the territorial unit. By adopting another amendment (this one by Marjan Nachevski and Lj. Ivanov), advertising during sports broadcasts is no longer subject to temporal restrictions. An amendment submitted by the LDP faction requested the regulating that not all consumers of electricity are `a priori' radio or TV programme recipients. Dimitar Trpenovski and Dzheladin Muratovski suggested that one fee should be paid by hotels, hospitals and medical and educational facilities per ten appliances. The Parliament has rejected most of the amendments advocating an increased level of independence of the Radio-Broadcasting Council, on terms for granting concessions, on the horizontal spreading of broadcasting enterprises (i.e. the prohibiting of setting up such facilities by representatives of the press). [14] 92 CASES OF BRUCELLOSISBased on the most recent data issued by the National Health Protection Office, 92 cases of brucellosis have been registered in Macedonia so far. This disease is most often transferred to people via goats and sheep (less frequently from pigs and cattle). So far most of the cases have emerged around Tetovo, Prilep, Veles and several villages near Skopje. Thus four cases of brucellosis have been registered by medical facilities in Skopje since the beginning of this year.It is a common procedure to slaughter contaminated goats, while livestock throughout the country is being subjected to thorough medical examination. MILS SUPPLEMENT[15] `Property to Bait International Investors'(`Vecher' - 24th April 1997)Nowadays the Law on the Nationalization of Business Premises and Construction Property, passed way back in 1958, is still legally binding in the Republic of Macedonia. It is being implemented in combination with the Construction Property Act whose most recent amendments and alterations date back to 1991. Concordant to this bill construction property is being handled as a category of national property, which is contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia. The beginning of the transformation of national property, the need of regulating the ownership of development sites increasingly gains priority. To this purposes changes are already being made by the enactment of several laws, as well as by the processing of numerous draft-bills. Thus the Law on the Transformation of Enterprises with National Capital codifies the property on which such enterprises are built on as property of the state. Ergo the latter is functioning as its new owner. The Expropriation Act however is leaving behind the principles of a general act of law with regards to the implementation of urbanistic plans, while the future Law on Denationalization outlines the denationalization of all construction property which has been used concordant to its designated purpose. The transformation of ownership of construction property further reflects itself on options to use the same. At present this includes the automatic altering into another relation - letting the property. What is being suspended is the granting of construction property, while the mere fact that property of this kind is at one's disposal changes into the right of ownership by an individual, a physical entity, the local government or the state. These are only some of the reasons due to which the enacting of a new Law on Construction Property becomes inevitable. This act of law would actually resolve all issues in this domain for the state, regulating the use of 2% of the country's overall territory. One of the basic principles of this future law is the establishing of ownership, then the differentiating between options on the property itself and the facilities built on it, as well as the introducing of profitability in the development sector. It appears that the problem will have to be defined in detail and addressed thoroughly, as it is Macedonia's intention to attract as much international capital as possible. This is only possible if all ownership rights are resolved. These are most probably the reasons why this bill has been manipulated with in terms of its enactment. Its first version though has already been submitted to the Ministry of Urbanism and Civil Engineering, and in spite of the fact so far nobody has agreed to discuss this law openly it appears that there are two prevailing views as regards the granting of construction property: there is - for one thing - the option to do so by letting the land over longer periods of time (up to 99 years) while the state would outline the exact terms of letting the land (as regards to duration, property rights, etc.). This would practically be conducive to the creating of a protection mechanism with respect to the using of construction property. There is, however, another combined system; the land around a facility could be let over longer time while the property on which the object stands belongs to the investor. Thus it remains more than questionable what sort of NOVELTIES this act of law is to introduce... This does not apply to the fact that it must be enacted as the `pressure' exerted by international institutions continues to increase. It must, nevertheless, not be forgotten that the Construction Property Act has not been passed either - as well as the fact that it would represent one complete entity with the Local Self-Government Act. (end)mils news 25 April 1997Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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