VMRO-DPMNE accused Skopje Mayor Petre Silegov of planning a criminal property swap worth millions, using the newly built town hall. Last week Silegov announced that the city will not be moving his administration to the building situated underneath the Kale fortress, and will attempt to sell it at an auction.

According to VMRO-DPMNE, Silegov plans to purchase the building currently used by the ELEM energy company, which is situated on the central Macedonia Square, and is also waiting to move into a new building. Both the new town hall and the new ELEM building were built by the Nikola Gruevski led Government, as part of the Skopje 2014 urban renewal project, but have remained vacant under the Zoran Zaev Government.

The opposition party claims that Mayor Silegov’s hurry to sell the town hall and the indications he will give a sweetheart deal to the company which buys it, reeks of corruption. VMRO-DPMNE said that the auction is expected to be a formality, and that the company which will buy the town hall is already known in informed circles.

Mayor Silegov lied that he will not sell the town hall, only to make it an urgent priority now. Is he prepared to be held responsible if he sells the new building in exchange for the ELEM building which is decades old? Is he prepared to be held criminally responsible for the plans to award the buyer of the new town hall free land and property tax breaks? How will he compensate the expected loss on the sale of the town hall, compared to the investment?, VMRO-DPMNE asked Silegov.

The city administration is still operating out of wooden, makeshift barracks built following the 1963 earthquake. The site of the barracks is also being eyed greedily by real-estate developers.