1 I don’t even want to imagine the scale of disaster two planes colliding would cause. Especially, over a populated area…
The aviation authorities have launched an investigation into a serious incident after two planes almost collided somewhere over Skopje on September 7. As a citizen, this news might catch my attention, but it wouldn’t concern me too much because I know that air traffic is strictly regulated, there are professional institutions that know what they’re doing, and, thankfully, planes are equipped with systems to avoid collisions. However, since I live here, I can’t feel at ease because over the past two years there’ve been serious incidents, admittedly not in the sky, but within M-NAV, the air traffic control institution, and those issues remain unresolved.
First, the leadership tried to cancel the competition for air traffic controllers because their relatives and party affiliates didn’t pass the tests. After that, when the Union went on strike over politically motivated employments, the Control Tower was stormed by party thugs, who beat up an air traffic controller standing in solidarity with the Union.
In the end, the storming of the Control Tower at Skopje Airport that took place at the start of this year, which the Prosecutor’s Office deemed a threat to the air traffic safety, was downplayed into nothing more than a tiny case of bickering, or worse, a mere misunderstanding between colleagues.
In aviation terminology, there’s a clear distinction between an “incident” and a “serious incident.” The event on September 7 was classified as a “serious incident” by the aviation authorities. However, given how previous serious incidents at M-NAV have been handled, I doubt that this specific serious incident in the sky will be seriously investigated. To be more precise, I do believe the investigation will be taken seriously, because aviation leaves little room for incompetence and improvisation, however, I don’t believe the people responsible for it will be held accountable seriously or face serious consequences. This is, of course, the case with everything else in our country, where institutions have been hijacked by the parties. And if an ethnic twist is added to the mix…there’s a good chance that the serious incident will end up being dismissed as not serious, just a tiny case of bickering.
2 Minister of Finance Gordana Dimitrieska – Kochoska went on Facebook to thank the Public Revenue Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Public Security Bureau, and the Customs Administration for conducting an all-day operation alongside her to collect evidence on tax evasion. Some of them were personally with her in Strumica, while some went to other towns.
Until yesterday, I thought the Minister of Finance handled financial policies. I didn’t know her job was to oversee accounting controls.
Ten days ago, Minister Dimitrieska – Kochoska said on a podcast that she roams the Ministry building at night and turns off office lights. She said: “At 11:00 at night, who’s working, if I haven’t permitted it?” She also said that at the Ministry they don’t have free coffee as a fringe benefit and they buy it themselves, but added “I keep a close eye on that too, I always say, don’t spend too much.” She probably scolds them for using too much water and electricity to heat the kettles.
However, it seems the minister got tired of turning off lights and counting cups of coffee, so she thought to herself, it’s time for me to organise an operation to make the most of the day. Based on her Facebook post – “today, alongside me, they worked tirelessly all day” – she almost sounds like the leader of the operation. She coordinated the inspectors from the PRO and MIA. How come she didn’t take the Minister of Internal Affairs, Panche Toshkovski, and the Minister of Justice, Igor Filkov, along with her? Arrest them and sentence them on the spot – case closed, crime eradicated, and all within the first 100 days of Government. Next time she organises an operation to investigate companies, she should call Stojanche Angelov to break down their doors.
Dimitrieska – Kochoska is a minister. She’s not an investigator, she’s not an inspector, she’s not an accountant, she’s not an auditor. She’s not an opposition MP. She’s a politician in power. With a lot of responsibility and power. In some countries, a minister of finance participating in gathering evidence at companies suspected of criminals acts, alongside police and prosecutors, would be considered political interference in the investigation. I’m not a lawyer, but I think that even in our not-so-normal legal system, evidence collected that way would be problematic.
On top of that, who knows how much damage was done at the Ministry of Finance itself while the minister was out in the field. How many cups of coffee were drunk, how many lights weren’t turned off?
3 The former economic director of the Children’s Clinic has now been hired as an adviser to the new director of the clinic. Minister of Health Arben Taravari said he couldn’t prevent directors from hiring advisers.
The Government abolished the position of economic directors at the clinics, but there you go, they’ve somehow found a way to stay on the payroll. Up to this point, over half a million euros were allocated annually for the salaries of 30 economic directors. If all of them become advisers, the total cost will stay the same. At least the damage will be less, since they won’t be handle purchases, business trips, and party employments. Now, they’ll just receive a salary.
It’s similar to what Zaev used to say when he appointed advisers: Give them their daily bread.
4 In Skopje, everything is running flawlessly, everything works like clockwork, so Mayor Danela Arsovska, who was supported by VMRO-DPMNE, but is now dubbed an “independent candidate” by Mickoski, must have thought to herself: “What should I do, what should I do next? I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do, so I might as well get down to business because I don’t want to be paid for not working.” With no other tasks at hand, she decided to build a pedestal on the roundabout near “Continental” at the entrance of Skopje. She plans to reinstall the monument to Kjoseto. After all, the mass murderer holding a dagger is exactly what we need right now.
In his holiday speech on September 8, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski included among his ten commandments the goal to bring our young people back to the country.
Indeed. Our young people are just itching to come back. To marvel at Kjoseto. The monument’s location is perfect. As they drive from the Skopje airport into the city, Kjoseto will be the first thing they see.
Mickoski knows what he’s talking about: “The hope that we’ll succeed is felt all over the country.”
Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski
