The accusations of the mayor of the City of Skopje, Danela Arsovska, about the alleged rigging of the tender for the construction of a water treatment plant by the former director of Vodovod Skopje Zlatko Perinski fell like a house of cards after yesterday the vice president of the European Investment Bank responsible for Western Balkans, Liljana Pavlova signed the grant agreement worth 70 million euros in the presence of the European ambassador David Geer.

More than seven months have passed since the quarrel between Arsovska and VMRO-DPMNE due to accusations that Arsovska allegedly caught the then-director Perinski red-handed and tried to influence the entire tender procedure for the construction of the treatment plant in Skopje.

The baseless accusations that were not supported by solid evidence presented at Arsovska’s press conference were denied by Perinski himself, who said that everything was in accordance with the regulations and procedures of the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as that Arsovska herself requested change not the members of the evaluation commission for the construction of the treatment plant, without any justification, about which he said he informed the EIB, which then responded negatively.

Very soon, Arsovska’s accusations of Perinski’s illegal actions were also denied by the European Investment Bank, which informed the public through a press release that the purchases were carried out in accordance with the EIB’s procurement guide and in accordance with the approved procurement strategy, and during yesterday when the agreement between the Government and the EIB was signed, the deputy president of the EIB, Pavlova, answering a journalist’s question, confirmed the same position, namely that there were no irregularities during the procedure and that everything was conducted according to the procedures established by the EIB.

Mayor Arsovska was also present at the signing of the Agreement, who found herself in a tight spot due to the unfounded accusations against Perinski, and stated that possible omissions in the process of public procurement for the treatment plant were prevented due to her timely action.

There is no problem because we didn’t let to have it, said Arsovska.

The opposition VMRO-DPMNE came out with a statement in which it referred to the statements of the vice president of EIB Pavlova, emphasizing that the whole process was crystal clear, but Arsovska is now presenting herself as the savior of the project that she sabotaged just a few months ago.

This project was directly sabotaged by Danela Arsovska and SDS, falsely manipulating that it is criminal, and that VMRO-DPMNE personnel have their hands in the honey. Arsovska behaves as if she has collective memory amnesia. And now that she has approved it, she will present herself as the savior of the project that sabotaged it, said VMRO-DPMNE.

This important project for the construction of a sewage treatment plant for the Skopje residents and for the state was the subject of many unfounded accusations and attempts at manipulation by Skopje mayor Arsovska, but it seems that all the false claims failed, and the same contract unchanged will be signed by Arsovska itself.