While big infrastructure projects fill the headlines, people's real lives often depend on a single paved street in the village. The mayor of Bitola, Toni Konjanovski, has announced an investment of over 16.7 million denars in road infrastructure - this time in the village of Karamani.

The project covers paving the village's street network, and the mayor, together with the council president and the responsible officials, inspected the works on the ground. It sounds modest compared to motorways and high-speed trains, but for the residents of Karamani one paved village is a bigger change than any national project.

News like this easily turns into pre-election photo ops - a mayor with a plan in hand, smiling associates, fresh asphalt behind them. Metla will always ask the same thing: it's good that there's investment, but are 16.7 million denars for one village measured when they pay off, or when the votes are counted?

Rural areas across Macedonia have waited decades for basic infrastructure while the cities get boulevards. Every paved street in a village counts - provided the project finishes the way it looks in the inspection photo, rather than being left unfinished after the first round of attention.