Asked on whose authority was he discussing a public procurement contract for the M-NAV air traffic control company, the Government’s Secretary General Dragi Raskovski said that he was tasked by the Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev.
This was one of the most important revelations of the lengthy press conference Raskovski held today to explain the alleged corruption scandal, which blow up after a leaked audio tape showed him discussing the contract with the Italian company Leonardo. A number of corruption experts asked Raskovski what was he even doing at a meeting held to discuss the procurement in an independent institution, which included an EBRD loan.
Those who dispute my presence at the meeting should know, it is under the privy of the Secretary General, Raskovski said, before citing a broad clause in the law that allows Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to direct the Government officials to act in accordance with his program.
Raskovski threatened to sue the press which reported on the affair and shared the tape which shows him discussing the potential winners of the procurement bid. Raskovski is also heard using vile racist speech about Italians and southern nations in general.
He insisted that the procurement was driven by an unspecified incident in M-NAV, which was discussed at a Government session. Raskovski refused to provide details about the session, insisting it is classified because of actions undertaken by state prosecutors. Pro-Government media reported of an alleged incident in September 2018, when the radar equipment that M-NAV relies on, allegedly went offline for half an hour.
Meanwhile, the Lider news site reported that in May, a major tragedy was narrowly averted, when a Turkish and a Dutch passenger plane were set on a collision course over Macedonia. According to the report, M-NAV leadership has attempted to cover up the incident.
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