The private bus transporters, who are protesting by blocking the “Ilinden” boulevard in Skopje, after not receiving an answer to the request for a meeting with the mayor of Skopje Danela Arsovska, asked to be received by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski.

The representative of the association of private bus transporters “Sloboda Prevoz”, Kjemal Muric, said yesterday that in conditions where they do not have an answer from the mayor of Skopje Danela Arsovska to their request for a meeting, they hope to be accepted for a conversation by Prime Minister Kovacevski to discuss the current situation with city public transport. If the meeting does not take place, according to him, it is possible to radicalize the protests.

We don’t know when we will be called. It is up to them, depending on the Prime Minister’s commitments. I don’t even want to think about what will happen if they don’t call us. Most likely, there will be a radicalization of the protests, but for that, the coordinating body of the private bus transporters should meet beforehand and agree on further steps, Muric pointed out, adding that the city authorities do not show any interest in trying to solve the situation.

On the other hand, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Fatmir Bytyqi, spoke against taking away the competencies of the City of Skopje over bus transport in the capital, assessing that this would mean going back 20 years in the decentralization process and would be detrimental not only to the citizens but and the overall functioning of the system.

Bytyqi said that the Government is always there for the citizens, but the problem with private bus transporters should be solved by the city authorities.