Opposition Probes Cost of Independence Day Celebrations

The opposition Social Democrats have submitted some 500 inquiries asking for detailed information on each spending.

The Government said it spent only €90,000 for the festivities however the opposition suspects the bill may have reached millions of euros budget money.

“It is nonsense to believe in their [the government’s] story so we wonder why they have chosen to hide the real sum”, a Social Democrats legislator told Balkan Insight under condition of anonymity.

Most of the requests have been sent to the Ministry of Culture, as it organized most of the events.  The ministry confirmed it had received the inquiries.

“We have received information requests” the Ministry told Balkan Insight in a written release on Monday insisting that “we will address them within the deadlines stipulated by the law”.

Under the Law on Access to Public Information, the institutions now have 30 days to answer the information requests.

Social Democrats members said that they had sent some of the questions to the Defence Ministry as well to other institutions that participated.

More than 100,000 Macedonians attended the Independence Day celebrations in the Skopje’s main square. The festivities included an army parade, the unveiling of a newly built arch which is over 20 meters tall and a 24 meters tall fountain sculpture at the square.

The central event happened at the square in the evening with the premier of a musical called Makedonium.

The opposition would like to know how much money the authorities spent on erecting three separate stages, one of which was 40 meters long.

They have asked for detailed bills for the illuminations, electricity and special effects used during festivities and promotions of new fountains, and a museum. They also want to see the bill for the buses that transported people free of charge as well as the bill for the live TV broadcast and for the artistic team that prepared the events.

The Social democrats asked the Defence Ministry how much they had spent on new uniforms for the honorary guard which was on display that day during a military parade.