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MILS: News from the FYROM, 97-08-07Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS NEWSSkopje, 07 August, 1997[01] STATUS OF ALBANIANS IN MACEDONIA UNRESOLVEDIn yesterday's commentary in a report from Radio Tirana in Prishtina Macedonia is condemned of `committing a massacre on half of its population just because they are Albanians'. The commentator criticizes the USA and the European states because ` they have not condemned the ongoings in Macedonia'. The Radio presented an assessment of a Prishtina analyst who underlines that today `the anti-Albanian attitude is not present only in the Balkans but also in a larger part of the world centres', adding that `all that exceeds the once present anti-Semitism existing in the Second World War'. In the last 7 years , according to the commentary on Radio Tirana, the Macedonians knew what to look for and how to act while the Albanian political ruling circle in Macedonia `has lost the way to its own yard', thus the status of the Albanians remains unresolved. According to the commentary given on the Albanian radio the Albanians in Gostivar `expressed satisfaction with the status they hold', reports `Dnevnik'.[02] 83 MACEDONIAN ALBANIANS ELIGIBLE FOR UNIVERSITIES IN ALBANIAAt the universities in Albania for the year 1997/98 83 Macedonian Albanians will be eligible to enter, reported `Flaka e Vlazerimit' yesterday. The Albanian Embassy in Macedonia announced that the students' entering will be conducted by means of an admission procedure at each f the faculties. The applying in underway and the entrance exams are scheduled for 20 September. The study expenses of the candidates that will be admitted at the universities will be covered by the Albanian Government.Largest interest, according to the experience of past years, when the Albanian Government also granted scholarships for Macedonian Albanians, is shown for the Medical faculty which this year will admit 10 students. The other faculties of the Tirana University will admit 17 students. The Politechnical university will admit 25, while the Agricultural faculty - 23 students from Macedonia. The Institute for Physical Education in Tirana and the Faculty of Agronomy at the University in Korcha. [03] SLOVENIA FAILS TO GAIN 1 MILLION `EX-YU' DOLLARSThe Court in Cypress has rejected Slovenia's demand on returning of 1 million dollars deposited on the account of `Belgrade Bank' in Nicosia. The demand carried the claim that the means belong to Slovenia and that they had been secretly transferred from the account in the National Bank of Former Yugoslavia to the `Belgrade Bank' in Cypress. The legal trial in Cypress lasted more that a year and Slovenia's demand was rejected because Ljubljana refused to exhibit evidences that the money belong to Slovenian citizens. The trial was part of the succession procedure of the assets of former Yugoslavia.[04] DP DELEGATION AT UNPREDEP HQTwo days ago a delegation of the Democratic Party headed by the leader of the Party and a republic parliamentary member Tomislav Stojanovski - Bombaj, at the seat of UNPREDEP in the Republic of Macedonia in Skopje was received by the chief of the Mission and Special Envoy to the UN Secretary General, Henryc Socalski. In lengthy talks the two delegations exchanged opinions regarding the latest events in Gostivar and Tetovo and their influence on future inter-ethnic relations in the Macedonian Republic.The mutual opinion regarding the latest events of celebrating the great Macedonian holiday - Ilinden at `Mechkin Kamen', in Tetovo and Brvenica and other places in the republic, is that one that the Constitution and the Law should be adhered and all those who breach them should be sanctioned concordant to the criminal statute. A great impression at this meeting was left by the clear and firm attitude of Socalski that Macedonia is one and non-divisional state. [05] `AUDI' IS NOT COMING TO MACEDONIAAs we are unofficially informed, the negotiations with the German concern `Folksvagen' have been broken off. These negotiations regarded the project of production of the `AUDI' - `A-3' automobile in Macedonia. The German giant is definitely not coming to Macedonia The letter of reply has been received in our state by the Finance Minister. The letter indicated as main reasons for the negotiations break off the disagreement on some disputable issues on which both sides - the Macedonian Government i.e. its negotiation team and the `AUDI' representatives have not found a mutual language. Besides all attempts we have failed to come to more detailed official information, writes `Nova Makedonija'. All responsible factors at the moment are on vacation. We expect that next week we'll come to more specific information regarding latest development of events of the project that is of great interest both for our state and `AUDI'.Obviously the Macedonian Government has accepted to allow the German partner more benefits that are disputable from legal, economic and financial aspect. Besides the numerous issues that were not disputable the German side demanded to gain land and infrastructure by which the Macedonian Government would have become a share holder. The holding of shares would have presented managing rights with no right to a dividend and in three years-time the land and infrastructure would be handed over for permanent use. The Macedonian side offered free land and infrastructure with the obligation of constructing a factory for manufacturing the `A-3' automobile. Within these frameworks the German partner was supposed to take the obligation of large participation in the domestic manufacturing in the role of a supplier. Of course all this had to satisfy the standards of the German manufacturer. Thus the greatest trap is being avoided - the market placement of the automobiles, because `AUDI' demanded issuing of a certificate affirming that the automobiles are manufactured in Macedonia. If one knows that the parts are largely manufactured abroad and that in the first phase the automobile would only be assembled in Macedonia, a dispute with the World Trade Organization is inevitable because it demands 65% of the parts to be manufactured in the state so as to issue a certificate for placement on the foreign market. Another disputable issue are the taxed and custom duty. `AUDI' in the negotiations demanded from the Macedonian side the `A-3' model and the whole assortment of the factory, the models: `A4', A6' and `A8' including `Folksvagen', `Golf' and `Passat' to be freed of state tax payment. From the assessments done by the Government it turns out that all these benefits - the free land and infrastructure and the non-payment of taxes and customs duty - would cost much more than what our state would be gaining afterwards and this is: employment of 200 workers with out including and engaging any collaborants in the whole project. Does this present a missed chance to promote the reputation of our state in the world of manufacturing and to free ourselves from the hanger-on that we are a state that presents a high risk for foreign capital investment. The Government has the duty to inform the public about these broken negotiations and about all the details regarding the project which is of great importance for our state because it can enliven the economy activity of many capacities, reports `Nova Makedonija'. [06] APPROXIMATELY 500 FIRMS UNDER MAGNIFYING GLASSThe Privatization Agency of the Macedonian Republic at the moment is conducting a procedure of investigating 23 firms gone private. These investigations concern checking of certain indicated deviation occurrences which might lead to breaking of the privatization contract and renewing of the whole procedure at the beginning with all accompanying consequences. The largest number of investigation -1,5% are undertaken due to bad financial results, i.e. due to losses which under conditions of incomplete repayment of the national capital present damages. The Agency's experience shows that investigations take place mostly in the models of selling a firm to subjects that take over the managing, which speaks of bad management or intentional devaluation of the national capital. Besides these investigation the Agency also keeps under a magnifying glass 500 private firms that have been indicated to show some deviation occurrences.If the indications are to be affirmed, says Matilda Dimovska, finance director of the Privatization Agency, we form commissions who look into the cases and afterwards we demand interventions of the public attorney, the authorized ministries, the Payment Flow Institute, the Commission for valuable papers etc. Thus, out of the 500 , 40 cases are handed to the public attorney, approximately 120 - to the Payment Flow Institute. We also have send cases to the courts and other authorized institutions. As far as more or less disputable privatisations are concerned, the Agency informs, taking into consideration that 1.017 privatizations have been completed, the figure of 23 investigations is relatively small. However, we must bare in mind that 1996 is the first year since the managing teams have taken over the management. The first final accounts should have been delivered so as to see what has been happening in the private firm during this last year. [07] `DR. OETKER - KAMCHEV' BEGINS MANUFACTURINGPart of the products of `DR.Oetker' will be manufactured in Macedonia in the factory `Dr.Oetker - Kamchev' in Skopje which was officially opened yesterday. The factory will produce about 28 sorts of products (baking powder, vanilla powder, pudding, cream, ice-cream and other products) out of the complete assortment of 600 `Dr.Oetker' products. For the beginning it is planned that the 30 workers will realize a gross profit of 2 and a half million DM. The project was invested with 1,2 million DM in which `Dr.Oetker' participates with 70% and the Macedonian partner `Interkam' with 30%.Half a million of the money is circulation capital, while the rest is used for supply of machines and preparation of the storehouse of `Interkam' near the army barracks of `Goce Delchev' in Skopje. Goce Kamchev, director of `Interkam' said that the factory will offer products of high quality for a price lower than the price of similar products. The products are intended for the Macedonian, Bulgarian, Yugoslav, Greek and possibly the Albanian market. The company's director, Rihard Oetker, said that besides the powder production the possibility of widening the investment in Macedonia is also regarded, particularly in the wine production, and the firm is also interested in importing Macedonian honey, reports `Dnevnik'. [08] PENOV PROHIBITS DIRECTOR TEOFILOVSKI SELLING APARTMENTS AND CARS FOR COMPENSATIONThe Skopje mayor considers that `Communal Hygiene' should not sell assets and goods. The `Communal Hygiene' advertisement on selling office premises and cars is proclaimed invalid on the 1 August because it is damaging for the city and what's more it had been issued by a non- existing and unauthorized institute. The director of `Communal Hygiene', Sejdo Teofilovski, denies these claims and states that the procedure was legal. He turned to selling so as to capitalize the goods and assets gained with compensation and use the means for normal functioning of the firm.The mayor of Skopje has also paid the bills of Skopje with compensation. 'Communal Hygiene' has often been compelled to collect money for its services by compensation of goods - stockings, detergents...including even cars, buses, apartments. After many consultations with layers we announced a public auction which is now being denied by the mayor. That morning I was sent a fax from the Penov office indicating that I am not allowed to sell anything without having consulted the mayor, states Teofilovski. -My obligation is to turn the goods delivered by the debtors into financial means because I am responsible for more that 1.000 employees and for the services they offer the citizens of Skopje. I am compelled to sell those goods because only thus the firm can continue with normal functioning, says Teofilovski, reports `Dnevnik'. [09] MERSIM POLOZZANI - RESIGNATION OUT OF THE QUESTIONThe resolving of the scandal with the forged visas in Struga where one of the main actors is Emine Polozzani, spouse of the currents Deputy - Justice Minister of Macedonia , Mersim Polozzani, set the question for a possible resignation of this high government official. Regarding this we have asked a statement from Minister Mersim Polozzani, reports `Vecher'. -I wouldn't like to comment on the demand of my resignation. I should not even think of that. My wife was working with the agency as any other agency functions. She couldn't know about the forged visas , i.e. she couldn't recognize whether they are forged. I trust the institutions conducting the investigation and I hope that soon all will be resolved. Then it will be revealed that there has been no need for her to be arrested. In fact, that there has not been any criminal act committed, says Polozzani. `Nova Makedonija' reports that the forged visas have been discovered by German officials at the moment when those possessing the visas have found jobs in Germany. The three examined people from the Struga village Kalishta have paid 3.500 DM.[10] BRUCELLOSIS ENDANGERING SHTIPShtip is living with fear. Not only the surrounding of the town but also the surrounding villages on the Plachkovica mountain the brucellosis is desolating the cattle and people. The disease has now moved down to the plains of Ovche Pole. Undertaking any protection measures is impossible because only the veterinarian inspection has been engaged in them. The infected heads are re-sold from one place to another and thus the disease is spread among the cattle, as well as by the illegal trade with meat, milk and dairy products of diseased heads which are sold by the owners carrying them from home to home from apartment to apartment. Besides last year's massive destruction of all herds of diseased cattle, particularly sheep from the Shtip region of Plackovica the disease instead of being liquidated is constantly spreading.The republic veterinarian inspector of the Shtip municipality, Dr. Branko Kulakov informs us that only recently 350 heads of sheep and 30 heads of goats have been destroyed because they are considered the greatest disease carriers - but the cows have also not been spared lately. Unfortunately the number of diseased people is constantly increasing and at the moment over 30 people are being treated at the Medical centre in Shtip. The number of infected people is increasing, reports `Vecher' [11] INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND PAYMENT BALANCE - PART 4 (G. Bishev)This large deficit in terms of subsistent payment flow operations are first and foremost to be ascribed to the low level of domestic saving, the high consumption but insufficient production rate of tradable goods which would be competitive enough to succeed on the international market. The long-term threat such a considerable deficit poses, inevitably entails the question of how it should be covered. This may be achieved via financing imbalance, conducting corresponding adaptation or via combining both of these methods. Over the past few years the payment flow deficit has primarily been covered through financing. In a situation when hard currency reserves are scarce this boils down to utilizing international capital in shape of unilateral transfers, and bi-multi-lateral credits.During the initial years of monetary independence the adaptation strategy was also being employed, in shape of frequent corrections of hard currency exchange rates and import reduction. Throughout the transition of a monetary strategy focusing on the targeting of the hard currency exchange rate (October 1995) and on the eliminating of impacts incurred by exogenous shocks, the role of such a policy of adaptation has been decreased considerably and while financing via cumulative international capital became the only approach of handling the payment flow deficit. It would nevertheless have to be said that this does not generate an non-sustainable level of indebtedness. On 31st December 1996 the overall debts of the Republic of Macedonia - accrued on the basis of middle and long-term loans - amounted to 1 172.4 million US dollars. Concordant to this the Republic of Macedonia may be categorized as a medium-ranked debtor nation, with 31.6% of its GNP falling off to exterior debts. The index of their settling amounted to 11.5% of all exported goods and ... (nefaktorski) services in 1996. From a structural point of view, 74% of these dues are towards official creditors, while 26% fall off to private creditors - headed by the London Club of Creditors. In compliance to the general agreement ratified in March 1997, the overall amount of debts of the Republic of Macedonia towards commercial banks encompassed within the London Club of Creditors has been estimated to 228.7 million dollars. As regards dues towards official creditors, 464.7 million dollars have been granted by multi-lateral entities and 402.3 million by bilateral equivalents. The lion's share of these dues has been generated towards countries of the so-called Paris Club of Creditors (324.7 million dollars), which have consented to the re-programming of these obligations. The low level of domestic saving will continue to shape the financing of the payment balance deficit with respect to subsistent transactions over the next five to seven years, as it is being contrasted by the necessity of intensively reviving the investment cycle. This means that the Republic of Macedonia will exempt from confronting these deficits and from increasing its exterior indebtedness. The expected growth in domestic saving on the one hand however - and the projected net export expansion on the other - will facilitate the gradual neutralization of this deficit in subsistent transactions and the necessity of resorting to hard currency assets (savings deposits) as an additional investment source. Taking in account the predicted intense growth rate as regards economic activity over the period 1997 - 2002 (at an average annual rate of 6.4%), and the commitment to generate this economic growth via net export, the average annual growth rate of net export needs to reach 16.5% over the following five years. At the same time it is being expected to achieve a positive balance sheet in the services sector as of 1998, due to available but not fully exploited tourism facilities and solid infrastructure and construction potential. The third prop expected to support the establishment of a neutral payment balance (by 2002) - i.e. the reaching of a positive net balance in international trade - are transfers of Macedonian nationals living and working abroad. The optimism exhibited with respect to this category has been based on the continuity upon conducting a stable and transparent macro-economic policy, as well as upon the reinstatement of credibility of the fiscal system. Thus the current payment flow deficit in subsistent transactions of 485 million dollars (or 13.1% of the GNP) should be dynamically reduced over the next five years - to the total of app. 110 million dollars, or 1.6% of the GNP, by the year 2002. Following the latter, the payment balance should be characterized by a surplus which would eventually be conducive to decreasing Macedonia's obligations towards international creditors in absolute terms (in relative terms the exterior dues of Macedonia would even be reduced prior to 2002, on grounds of the dynamic National Product growth). Ergo the Republic of Macedonia would commence the settling of its obligations upon acquiring the status of a `mature debtor', paralleled by an active accounting balance and an active subsistence account as regards the balance of payment. In order to facilitate the regular settling of exterior obligations in the future, it will be necessary to compile a mid-term strategy on their management and settling. The fundamental objective of this strategy should be the permanent sustaining of trust of international creditors as regards the vitality and potential of the Macedonian economy to settle its dues on a regular basis - and in concordance to the need to stabilize and resuscitate Macedonian economy. In this sense it is prerequisite to normalize relations towards the European Investment Bank - as the last international creditor towards whom the Republic of Macedonia has not regulated its obligations - as soon as possible (e.g. 1997). The reaching of an agreement on re-programming debts towards the club of commercial creditors, as well as the recent transformation of dues into state bonds which are to be listed with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, represents a quality solution to this problem conducive to Macedonia's simultaneous integration into the international capital market. Considering the rate of these dues on the secondary market, adhering to the correlation of 70 cents per dollar, it could be commendable to consider the possibility of re-purchasing a share of these exterior debts through so-called `buybacks.' (To be continued...)mils news 07 August, 1997Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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