Mayors to report on spent funds

The mayors will also report on where and for what they spend budget funds, or in line with the reactions after the announcement of the government’s accountability tool – who drank coffee, how much they ate and how much they spent on trips. In ten days, the Association of the Units of Local Self-Government of RM (ZELS) to sign cooperation with the Government for inclusion in the cost accounting software that was launched a week ago.

“We talked to Robert Popovski about joining in the cost reporting. In this case, the cooperation agreement will be signed by ZELS and the Government,” mayor of Skopje, Petre Shilegov, who is also president of ZELS, stated for “Nezavisen/Independent”. He said that he expects the cooperation to be made official in ten days.

In this case, the mayors will respond to the government’s call for elected officials to be transparent in spending the budget funds. At the promotion of the tool a week ago, Robert Popovski, the Minister of Communications, Accountability and Transparency, explained that the Government does not intend to instruct local officials to report on the money spent, but stressed that they hope to do it on their own initiative.

Whether, aside from mayors, the directors of the public enterprises and other institutions established by the municipalities or the councils publicly display the money spent, will we known when the ZELS and the Government will sign the cooperation agreement.

It is certain that then it will be known how much money was spent, and why some of the mayors spent on luxuries, bought official vehicles, at a time when municipalities have blocked accounts, owe money for water, barely can make payments etc.

For the time being, part of the accountability tool are the President of the Government, the deputies of the President, the ministers, the deputy ministers and the ministers without portfolio, as well as the Secretary General of the Government, and the state secretaries of the ministries.