The State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has opened a case on the Institute of Public Health, after a devastating report by the State Audit Office for 2024. And the list of alleged irregularities reads like a manual on how to spend public money without anyone noticing - at least until the auditors show up.

Among the findings: a 15-kilometre cable worth around 15,000 euros whose physical location is unknown altogether. Half a party for 50,000 euros - for a one-hour centenary ceremony. Staff who drew a salary without coming to work. Falsified attendance records. Hirings without the required exams. Promotions and salary supplements of 44,000 to 88,000 denars a month. And, as the cherry on top, the renting out of the institute's premises to a private bakery - against the rules.

The Commission says it will „undertake all necessary activities to gather and analyse the relevant documentation” in order to establish facts and assess corruption risks. Bureaucratic language for something far simpler: someone spent state money as their own for years, while the controls stayed silent until the audit spoke up.

The Institute's director, Marija Andonovska, replied that the irregularities date from a period before her appointment, and attributed them to a lack of reagents and poor record-keeping under the previous management. Maybe. But the question isn't only who was director when the 15-kilometre cable went missing - it's how an institution for public health spends 50,000 euros on a one-hour party at all, while citizens go without reagents for tests. Who will answer for it, and will anyone at all?