In a pre-election stunt, Transportation Minister Blagoj Bocvarski and SDSM party official Venko Filipce took a drive along the road connecting Prilep and Drenovo.

 

The badly needed road was well under construction in 2017, when SDSM grabbed power, and construction has proceeded at glacial pace since then. Bocvarski and Filipce bragged that the road is now 90 percent finished, but after eight years in power, that’s hardly an accomplishment. Regular citizens are not allowed to use it, and continue to drive along a dangerous narrow path made all the worse by the endless construction works.

 

Began under the last VMRO-DPMNE administration, the road was supposed to be finished by 2019 or 2020, helping connect Prilep and Bitola to the main north-south highway, the capital Skopje and the port of Solun. SDSM stopped work on other major infrastructure projects like the Demir Kapija – Smokvica highway and the Skopje – Stip highway, but these were nearly finished in 2017, so eventually even the SDSM led Government was able to put them in service. But the road to Prilep and Bitola, and the Kicevo – Ohrid highway remained blocked and continue to be a major problem for the development of the country.