The Makpetrol oil company, which last month received 33 million EUR in a corrupt settlement, decided to improve its image by donating tablets for the hard-pressed public education system. One thing though – the donation amounts to just 1,000 tablets.
A leaked email from the Education Ministry reveals instructions from Minister Mila Carovska to put together a list of municipalities that have the most pupils without computers or tablets. These children currently rely on ineffective teaching through public television, with no interaction with the teachers. The email calls on the schools to appoint point-persons to collect the tablets, which is a worthy cause, but is peanuts in light of the huge payment Makpetrol received.
Makpetrol had a long running dispute with the Government over the ownership of Macedonia’s only international gas pipeline, that provides Russian gas through Bulgaria. Prime Minister Zaev pushed exceptionally hard to approve a settlement that is so favorable to Makpetrol that it raised suspicion about another corrupt deal of the regime. In the end, public officials refused to sign the settlement, so Zaev pressured his majority in Parliament to make the payment through a special law – a move that, in theory, should protect those involved from being held responsible.
The email was shared publicly by opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski. “This is a scandal”, he said, “there will be accountability for this deal in the first 100 days of the next VMRO-DPMNE led Government”.
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