VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski visited Tetovo on Saturday and met with supporters in Jegunovce, as well as in the St. Naum of Ohrid monastery in the Popova Sapka ski resort. Mickoski said that the Zoran Zaev Government is only interested in increasing taxes and other fees, so it can get more money for contracts it is delivering to companies affiliated with the SDSM and DUI parties.

They adopted a list of measures whose only goal is to squeeze more money from the citizens and divert them to the budget, and then distribute it to themselves through public contracts. They abolished the council on public procurement, which was a level of checks and balances on the Government, and are now preparing all technical specifications for procurement all by themselves. There is a well known restaurant in the south-east of Macedonia where, as everybody know, you are supposed to deliver a cut of 10 to 15 percent of the contract your company won, Mickoski said.

His allegations come as several Government officials such as Deputy Prime Minister Koco Angusev and Labour and Welfare Minister Mila Carovska were revealed to have received contracts for their companies, or in the case of Carovska, the company of her unwed husband.

Mickoski spoke to employees in the now shuttered Jugohrom plant in Jegunovce, which was closed due to allegations that it is polluting the air in Tetovo. Even though air quality didn’t improve after it was shut down and Tetovo remains one of the most polluted cities in Europe, the plant remained closed.

The Prime Minister proudly told you in June 2017 that he will do all he can to bring the people back to work and reopen Jugohrom. Then in October, Angusev came and promised it will happen by May or no later than June 2018. We are now in 2019, and the promised date is now moved again to May or June but now it’s 2019. These are all lies, none of this will ever happen, said Mickoski.

Mickoski visited the Popova Sapka monastery ahead of the Christmas celebration, and called on the public to keep the faith that Macedonia can do better than this.

Our country faces numerous challenges. The citizens live difficult lives full of uncertainty. We can defeat this feeling of hopelessness as we can’t allow it to defeat hope that we can do better. We must firmly believe in our citizens, who are aware of the problems we have and know that we can defeat injustice and bring about a better future for our country,