Constituency 2: “Hot” race of key party names

Within the PEP project, SCOOP continues to publish the profiles of the holders of the electoral lists, with reference to their property status.   Authors: Angela Rajchevska and Bjanka Stankovikj   Neither at the second meeting did the leaders of the parliamentary parties agree on the date of the parliamentary elections. June, July or August – are the months when SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE are looking for a day when citizens will express their views, despite the impossibility to predict whether the risk of the COVID 19 virus will disappear by then. It is expected to be “hot” in Constituency 2, where the holders of the candidate lists are Oliver Spasovski and Sanja Lukarevska from SDSM, Vlado Misajlovski from VMRO-DPMNE, Arber Ademi from DUI and Afrim Gashi from the coalition Alliance of Albanians-Alternative. This constituency covers the territory of 10...

JOURNALIST’S ALARM – JOURNALISM IS STILL DEVALUATED

Author: Mirjana Vasileva Journalist Hristo Ivanovski believes that, despite the modern trends, there are still media outlets that are close to the government and the opposition. “As long as the media is influenced by different centers of power, there will be no professional journalism. The media is constantly targeting journalists to write commissioned texts or just read it, even though they themselves often do not know what the background is at the moment, ”Ivanovski says. In the recent period, he adds, “we are seeing improvements in journalism, but more responsibility is needed. In some newsrooms, there are constant pressures and often if a journalist refuses to write biased on a particular topic, he or she faces a salary penalty or threats of dismissal if he or she fails to do what he or she is told. ” “This requires...

RESEARCH: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MEDIA CLIENTELISM?

Author: Mirjana Vasileva For the needs of this story we conducted a survey with 30 journalists from print and electronic media in the country, which was conducted between November 20 and December 20, 2019. According to the results of the survey, clientelist practices and corruption in the media existed during the previous and during the present government also. Most journalists responded affirmatively to the question of whether there were clientelistic practices in the media during the previous government. To the question “Are clientelist practices in the media space still present during this government”, 86.6% answered “yes”. Of the three reasons used for influencing the media and journalists, the results showed that the majority of journalists consider media and individuals to be the most likely cause of funding, with a smaller number believing that it is the political pressures that...

UNINFORMED MEDIA SPACE, CHANGED WAYS OF CONTROL AND IMPACT

Author: Mirjana Vasileva Twelve printed editions this year got lucky for covering state-run printing costs from last year. That year, the number of printed media received government subsidies was down by one, with a total of 11 print publications receiving state aid. However, that amount was about 700,000 euros. Although the government, along with representatives of some of the media community, justified the distributions as being maximally transparent and with the support of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (SCPC) concludes that the criteria on the basis of which such assistance is granted are insufficiently precise and allow for inappropriate use of the allocated funds. The SCPC, as well as the community journalism, also point out that budget financing of a paid political campaign program is a potential risk of corruption...

Nepotism: Authorities change, “the relatives” remain

Managers in public institutions often (mis) use the Article 21 of the Labor Relations Act, which allows for maneuvering on jobs decisions, anti-corruption officials have found. Autor: Ruzica Fotinovska The distant 2003. The decision to hire the wife of the then director of the Health Insurance Fund, Rubinco Zarevski, was annulled on the recommendation of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption. This is the epilogue to the first case of conflict of interest decided by the Anti-Corruption Commission at the time, led by Slagjana Taseva. Years have passed, cases of nepotism have been on the rise. Some were outdated, some of the mentioned withdrew from office, and some remained in office despite their kinship with senior officials, for which rule was named on the pretext that there is no case of nepotism. Genesis – relative employment Nearly a...

Municipalities have spent millions of Euros on representation, Strumica a record holder

  Authors: Angela Rajchevska and Bjanka Stankovikj Despite the public commitments to rational budget management, in reality most municipalities continue to spend carelessly when it comes to public money. The SCOOP research within the PEP project shows that 64 municipalities from the Republic of North Macedonia spent a total of 2,220,634 Euros for the last three years. On average, during this time period each municipality spent about 34,000 Euros, or over 11,000 Euros per year. The Municipality of Strumica is a record holder in representation costs compared to other municipalities. In the last three years this local self-government unit, only for feasting and other activities for representation of the institution, spent 230,073 Euros in catering facilities and companies. Second on the list is Struga with 169,648 Euros, followed by Prilep with 161,866 Euros, Bitola 153,392 Euros and Gjorce Petrov...

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