Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska Kochoska reaffirmed in Ohrid on Friday that salaries for teachers in elementary and secondary schools will be raised.

“We are finalizing the budget, and one of the key elements I support is the salary increase for teachers in both elementary and secondary education. I also hope to see a wage increase in the healthcare sector,” she said to reporters.

In response to opposition claims that a loan from Hungary would increase the national debt, Dimitrieska Kochoska pointed out that the same amount had been included in the budget plans of the now-opposition party when they were in power.

“The EUR 500 million is the same amount they had budgeted. We haven’t increased anything. The only difference is that they artificially lowered the public debt percentage by inflating the growth rate, while we have adjusted it to a realistic figure. Now they’re misleading citizens by claiming we’re raising the debt. We’re not altering anything—they had planned a EUR 500 million eurobond, and we’re taking a EUR 500 million loan from Hungary. The interest rate in the European market is 5.5 percent, while the Hungarian loan comes at 3.25 percent,” explained the minister.

As for speculation that the loan funds originated from China, she clarified that the loan is from a Hungarian bank, and the source of their financing is irrelevant to Macedonia.

“What matters to me is securing the funds from a Hungarian bank on my terms. The connection here is between Macedonia and Hungary. Hungary’s interest rate is 3.25 percent, and I see no issue with this. We’ve obtained funds from an EU member state, and that’s what’s important to me,” concluded Dimitrieska Kochoska.