A group of mostly left wing non-governmental organizations (NGO) condemned the decision by the Government to reduce their annual share of the central budget by 525.000 EUR.

Many of these organizations strongly supported the 2015 Colored Revolution that brought the SDSM party to power, and saw their share of the budget grow exponentially, from a few million EUR a year to 12 million in the 2019 budget and a similar share was planned for 2020 before the coronavirus epidemic caused a major economic crisis. The Government now stares a budget shortfall projected to be between 700 million and 1,3 billion EUR, out of a total budget of a little under 4 billion. Proposals to cut the budget started with an un-heard of idea put forward by SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev to greatly reduce public sector salaries for several months, which was quickly rejected by his own Government members. The Government is now looking for cuts elsewhere, and is taking on the NGO budget.

This decision was reached without a transparent procedure, without consulting the civic organizations, without consulting th broader public and we therefore believe it is an unprincipled approach toward the civic society in a time of crisis. The decree cuts about 525.000 EUR in support that is necessary for us, and will de-facto remove the NGO sector from being a relevant partner in managing the Covid-19 crisis, the press release from the group of organizations stated.

The organizations insist that they acted efficiently and mobilized their resources to help the Government fight the epidemic. “Unfortunately, the Government doesn’t see us as a partner in fighting the Covid-19 crisis. Furthermore, its decision seriously reduces the sustainability of our organizations”, the group said.

The statement was signed by the Open Society Foundation – Macedonia, the Helsinki Committee, Transparency Macedonia, Metamorphosis, HERA, HOPS, dozens of local rural, environmental organizations, gender groups, Roma organizations and many others.

The civic society has full understanding of the crisis we are in and the need to show solidarity, but at a time when the civic organizations are working to repair the damage caused by this newfound situation, and are helping the Government of RNM to handle the healthcare crisis, these serious reductions will be harmful for the long term work of the civic organizations. This is why we call on the Government to reverse its decision and, through dialogue and transparently, restores the funding to its original purpose, the group said.