The price for the land that was sold for the construction of the Spanish Steps amounts to 1620 euros per square meter, according to sources from the Ministry of Transport and Communications. They deny the information that the land was sold for prices of 71 denars or 2 500 denars per square meter. Is this amount given by the BPPO as a justification for the witchhunt that is being carried out?!
The prosecution asks the court to determine the detention of nine suspects out of a total of 11 in the case known as the Spanish Steps. It is about selling state land in two locations, one in the city park where the construction of a hotel complex was planned, and the second location in the city center where the construction of hotels and the famous Spanish Steps were planned to accommodate business premises. The businessman, whose name the prosecution does not reveal for now, bought the land in one contract for 71 denars per square meter, while in the other, for 2500 denars per square meter – it is stated in Friday’s claims after detaining nine people who according to the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office are suspected of damaging the budget with the sale of the land where Spanish Steps were to be built and the place where the hotel was to be built.
Sources from the Transport and Communications Ministry maintain this amount was never discussed. According to them, 1046 square meters were sold at a price of 1620 euros per square meter, which, as they claim, is one of the most expensive piece of land sold in Macedonia. The same was sold through public bidding.
This price is extremely high. I think that if not the most expensive one, it is certainly among the most expensive state-owned lands in Macedonia. Lands were sold at a low price of 25 euros per square and nothing was done about it. Here it is about a serious amount, real value, our source claims.
In comparison, the land on which the Ramstore shopping center was built during the time of the Government led by Branko Crvenkovski was sold to the Turkish investor Koc for a price of 25 euros.
The Commission for Protection of Competition is investigating the sale of the land on which the Ramstore shopping center was built. If it is determined that the Government, headed by President Branko Crvenkovski during the sale, sold the land for a price lower than the real one, the Turkish investor, Koc, will have to pay extra. The commission launched a procedure to examine the sale of the land, as there were indications that the 25,000-square-meter plot was sold for 25 euros per square meter, it was then reported in the media.
Searching online shows that the claim that the land for the Spanish Steps was sold at a low price is no more than a shameful lie. Even then, the price of the “steps” paid by the boss was reported, and it is far higher than that being discussed.
The public commented Friday’s police action as defocusing the public from the current political developments that do not favor the current government. Mass arrests before dawn are commented as an aim to incite fear in the public and to turn people’s attention from the series of failures of the regime of Zoran Zaev. In addition to other failures, Zaev was the target of criticism because of the idea of being also a Minister of Finance, which is contrary to the Law on Conflict of Interests.
After this, he withdrew, was ridiculed, and even more embarrassing was the decision to perform sex-reassignment surgeries at the expense of the state. After there was a fierce public reaction, this decision was withdrawn late last night. The government showed that it has no compass, that it is lost, that it does not know where it is and what it does. So today it decided to make arrests again. As before, the targets are prominent opposition officials. Former minister Mile Janakieski was already in house arrest when he was detained, again, putting into question the way in which the entire police operation was staged.
Zaev’s retracted promise of early elections if he fails to deliver on a June EU accession talks date can’t be avoided forever, especially if the outcome of the October European Council is the same as the one last week. All points out to the creation of a Przino style Government soon, which will prompt a resignation from Zaev as Prime Minister. His failed attempt to name himself Finance Minister is seen in this light – it would allow him to cling on to the Government, at least as a technical Finance Minister. His promised purge, reduced to the lowest possible scope not to upset the SDSM factions and the relations wih his Albanian partners, still caused open fractures in the Government. A deputy minister accused Zaev of incompetence in reforming a crucial system such as education. A Finance Ministry adviser went even further and openly accused a Deputy Prime Minister of rigging public procurement contracts.
Under these circumstances, the regime resorted to the only tried measure that brings it at least a temporary hike in popularity – a new round of repression and arrests of its political opponents and public critics. Paid Government PR persons, hiding behind fake social media accounts, were let loose to rehash their stale jokes about the latest arrest of Mile Janakieski, a person who recently suffered a serious attack in the Shutka prison which is apparently not placed under full control. This time around, Janakieski is arrested for a public works project which was not even implemented. He is arrested a day after a Hungarian court confirmed that Macedonia is ruled by a regime, by refusing the request from Zaev’s courts and prosecutors to extradite his chief nightmare – Nikola Gruevski.
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