US Ambassador to Macedonia Kate Byrnes said that the Government and other institutions are responsible for the high level of corruption in the country. This is the second comment Byrnes made on the issue after the publication of the latest Transparency International report that ranked Macedonia at its historic worst 111th place in the world.

There have been very significant efforts made to fight corruption but they’ve been slow moving and they haven’t been enough. And here in this case I think perception matters enormously. If people perceive corruption than it is a problem. And if it is something they struggle with every day it is important to address that, to recognize the fact that this has an impact on people’s lives, that they are suffering not just from big corruption at the national level but the local level, the indignities that small payments are required to get basic services. These things have an effect on the population and they undermine confidence in the Government, they undermine economic growth and opportunities and they take away people’s dignity. It is the responsibility of everyone to address this issue. We talked about the fact that the Government has responsibility and that’s true but it’s not just the Government’s responsibility, there are many other actors, institutions have to do they part, businesses have to make sure they follow ethical practices, Byrnes said in a Kanal 5 TV interview.

The Zaev regime is hit by a series of scandals, with Zaev and top officials around him accused of high level corruption cases which are largely ignored by the prosecutors. At the same time, numerous current and former opposition officials are targeted for politically motivated investigations, many of them initiated by Zaev’s ally – former Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva – who herself is now sentenced to seven years in prison for extortion and abuse of office.