No parking and felled trees? VMRO-DPMNE calls out Gerasimovski over a Bunjakovec building site, he blames the investors

"Kostur Heroes" Street, formerly "29 November", in Skopje's Bunjakovec neighbourhood. Stefan Kirkov, a member of VMRO-DPMNE's City Committee, stops in front of a construction site fence and runs through the list: according to the information he has, the new building has no adequate parking planned, trees are being cut down, and the pavement has been swallowed by the works. All this in a neighbourhood where parking and simply walking around are already a struggle.

The message was aimed at the mayor of Centar municipality, Goran Gerasimovski, and at SDSM leader Venko Filipche. "Who is protecting the interests of Bunjakovec residents?" Kirkov asked, reminding them of campaign promises about "humanely planned neighbourhoods" and more greenery. VMRO-DPMNE wants Centar to say publicly under what conditions the building is going up, whether the approved plans are being respected and how the pavement and green space will be protected.

The mayor on TV: the problem is the investors

The irony is that Gerasimovski was talking about a very similar-sounding problem at almost the same time. On the programme "Nocno studio" on 4TV, he said reckless investors are among Centar's biggest problems: they leave building materials on pavements, block streets and damage infrastructure. "What bothers me most is when I see a badly fenced construction site, pavements with all sorts of things dumped on them and streets smeared with oil," he said. Inspectors are regularly out in the field, he says, but the way responsibilities are split between institutions sometimes slows things down.

On the site near the former "Treska" factory, the mayor said the investors are obliged to build a park, "which is not small at all", but that there are "obstructions" on their side. He is confident that "the greater part" of the park will be built. The greater part, then. Not all of it.

So the opposition in Centar says the municipality is letting buildings go up without parking and greenery. The mayor says the investors don't follow the rules and his hands are tied. When both sides agree the investors are the problem, one question is left that nobody asks out loud: who signed their permits and conditions, and why aren't those conditions being met? Bunjakovec residents don't need another press conference in front of a fence. They need an answer on who is responsible.