English
Minister of Internal Affairs Panche Toshkovski expects the “Safe City” project to be implemented nationwide by the end of this year or, at the latest, by early 2027, emphasizing that the system is already operational in several cities and serves as a vital tool for enhancing traffic safety and reducing road fatalities.
The system has already been established in Skopje, Kumanovo, and Tetovo, as well as within the jurisdiction of the Veles Regional Department of Internal Affairs (SVR Veles); the next areas slated for implementation are the Ohrid, Strumica, and Shtip regional departments, with Bitola to follow by the end of the year.
The Skopje, Kumanovo, and Tetovo regional departments are already covered. We have launched the system within the Veles regional department—covering Kavadarci, Negotino, Demir Kapija, and Veles. The next regional department where it will be implemented is Ohrid. Strumica and Shtip will follow, and finally, I hope that within this year—or by January 2027—we will implement it in the Bitola regional department as well. That represents our biggest challenge in terms of network connectivity with the central system. “In any case—whether by the end of this year or the beginning of the next—we will have it implemented across the entire territory of Macedonia,” the minister said during his appearance on the main news broadcast of Macedonian Radio-Television.
He emphasized that traffic safety remains one of the biggest challenges, given that a significant portion of criminal activity is directly linked to traffic.
“Of the total number of crimes committed this year—roughly 12,000 offenses—about 4,000 are traffic-related. Just imagine: over 30 percent of all crime consists of traffic-related offenses. Of those, 2,200 involve the reckless operation of a motor vehicle,” the minister noted.
According to him, despite the progress made, the number of traffic fatalities remains concerning, though the trend shows improvement compared to last year.
“I am not satisfied with what we have achieved so far. I am not satisfied because we have seen more than 60 fatalities this year. However, we are doing better than the previous year, and I hope that if we continue to improve year by year, we can truly reach the global goal—which is also a European strategic goal—of achieving zero traffic fatalities by 2050,” Toshkovski said.