After being declared "non grata" by the USA/ The resignation of the mayor of the municipality of Struga is requested

2023-06-23 21:13:08, Kosova & Bota CNA

After being declared "non grata" by the USA/ The resignation of the

Ramiz Merko

The determination by the Department of State for the mayor of the Municipality of Struga, Ramiz Merko, as "persona non grata" continues to be the main topic of debate in the public opinion in North Macedonia, with the increased demands not only of the opposition for the removal of Mr. Merko and dealing with justice.

The State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption announced on Friday that it had launched an initiative in 2019 to investigate Mr. Merko, but that it had been lost in the drawers of the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Struga and the Judicial Council.

The chairwoman of the Anticorruption Commission, Biljana Ivanovska, told reporters that the head of Struga had acted contrary to the will of the Struga Municipal Council; that he had caused damage to the budget during public procurements for personal gain.

" The Municipal Council did not make a special decision to supply the municipality with vehicles in 2018, while procedural concessions were made and during the debate on the rebalancing of the municipality's budget, there was no discussion at all about the purchase of vehicles for the municipality's needs, however they are bought later", said Ms. Ivanovska, listing a number of other irregularities in the work of Mr. Ramiz Merko.

Since 2010, the municipality has been working with blocked bank accounts at the time of purchases and supplies of luxury vehicles, the Anticorruption Commission points out.

The promotion of employees in the municipal administration without the consent of the Council was another finding that prompts Anticorruption to blame the mayor of Struga. According to Ms. Ivanovska, the accusations and denunciations against Mr. Merko were "lost" through the labyrinths of the Municipal Prosecutor's Office, the Municipal Court, the Republican Judicial Council and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Just like the US Department of State, the Anti-Corruption Commission in Skopje notes that Ramiz Merko had influence over a judge in Struga, whose investigation initiative was not carried out by the relevant bodies, while the case was allowed to expire.

The opposition, both Macedonian and Albanian, insistently demands that Mr. Merko retire from the post of Mayor of the Municipality and that the investigative bodies deal with the findings that the State Department underlines in the determination for him.

But not only the opposition; the new partner of the government coalition, the Alliance for Albanians, also demands legal responsibility from Mr. Merko.

" Ramiz Merko, leave your personal egos, understand the responsibility of the moment, run away, free the chair, free the relevant bodies, deal with them without the pressure of your power, don't hold the whole of Struga hostage under accusation, because you don't deserve it", said Lulzim Nasufi, responsible of the Alliance for Albanians in Struga

Meanwhile, the Democratic Union for Integration, where Ramiz Merko is a senior official, says that he has frozen his functions in the party, namely his post of vice president of the party, and encourages a comprehensive investigation not only against Mr. Merko, but also against the holders of state functions and local./ VOA