Murders in Gjorče Petrov, the Puls tip-offs, a second budget revision and buildings worth one denar

Gjorče Petrov: two murders, and the Interior Ministry says nothing

A 62-year-old man, found dead in his home on October 22. A 76-year-old woman, found by her daughter on Tuesday morning in a house on "Gjurčin Kokale" street. Both with signs of violence, in a single Skopje municipality, five days apart. According to unofficial sources, three people have been arrested, and the motive was money.

By late evening, the Ministry of Interior had confirmed nothing: not the arrests, not the role of each person detained, not whether the two cases are linked. Families and neighbours are learning everything from news portals. Why is the official confirmation the last to arrive?

Puls: the tip-offs were paid for with glasses and a watch

After almost a year-long investigation, the prosecution in Kočani has filed charges over the tax inspections at the Puls nightclub: nine defendants, bribery, abuse of office, disclosure of official secrets and forgery. According to the indictment, two inspectors from the Public Revenue Office accepted a pair of glasses and a wristwatch, and in return the venue was tipped off about when the unannounced inspections would come. The irregularities found during an inspection on March 6, 2024 never made it into the report, and the budget lost a fine of 98,400 denars.

For two people, the proceedings were dropped because the statute of limitations ran out. The statute of limitations, in a case tied to the venue of the worst tragedy in the country's recent history. And the messages between the owners and the inspectors were public as far back as last September, in a documentary by the Investigative Reporting Lab. Who is going to check how many other venues were "inspected" in a similar way?

The budget: the second revision cuts investment first

This year's second budget revision cuts both revenue and spending by around 5.3 billion denars each, and the deepest cut lands on capital spending, around 5.8 billion. The deficit stays at 4.1 percent of GDP. The government says the money is being aligned with "the real pace of the projects". Translation: what was supposed to be built is not being built at the planned pace.

Meanwhile, the World Bank estimates that the Western Balkans will speed up to 3.4 percent growth in 2027, while Macedonia slows to 3 percent. In the 2026 ranking, Macedonia sits in the middle, behind Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro. Will anyone in the government read the part of the report about the barriers facing business, and not just the upgraded forecast?

The state in front of auditors and observers

The Ministry of Digital Transformation has 16 office buildings on its books at one denar each, without complete documentation. The auditors gave no opinion on its financial statements, 43 percent of its positions are unfilled, and in all of 2024 there was not a single internal audit. The ministry says the problems were inherited. But the audit covers 2024, when the new ministry already existed.

The proposal to abolish service contracts in the public sector promises permanent jobs, but leaves room for 10 percent new freelance hires, ten times the limit set in 2015. And the OSCE praised the prosecution for transparency, while warning that without staff and money there will be no better results. In Macedonia, 72 organised crime and corruption cases were monitored, the most in the region.

Skopje: debt, a boulevard, a fountain and taxes

A year into his term, Mayor Gjorgjievski talks about "an inherited debt of almost 300 million euros" and promises the "Boris Trajkovski" boulevard by the end of the year. The real report card comes on January 1, when we see whether anyone is actually driving on it. On Macedonia Square, the floor fountain is running water on a trial basis, with a promise that cars will be there "never again". Who will protect it from the trucks has not been said.

Minister Andonovski, meanwhile, announced a new platform for paying property tax in Skopje, even though the city's e-Taxes system already exists. Which system stays and how much it will cost - one more answer nobody has given.

Winter arrived before November

The first snow on Straža and Popova Šapka is not settling on the roads, for now. In Bitola, four tonnes of pellets cost up to 88,000 denars, and the municipality set aside 3 million denars for inverter air conditioners, with no public figure on how many residents actually got the subsidy. One Bitola school, "Stiv Naumov" primary, is giving up heating oil and switching to two heat pumps.

In Kavadarci, a 69-year-old man was arrested after police found a shotgun, nine illegal snares and 13 kilograms of roe deer meat at his weekend house. Charges for illegal hunting and unlicensed possession of a weapon will follow.

The neighbourhood and the world

Bucharest claims that the fire next to the arms factory in Brașov was sabotage by a network run from Moscow. Near Kherson, a local ceasefire brokered with the help of Melania Trump, while missiles keep falling on Kyiv. The Balkans know very well what a peace is worth when it holds for just one dot on the map.

In Serbia, the student list that toppled Vučić is splitting over Kosovo. In Israel, the exit polls leave Netanyahu's coalition without a majority, and the key to the next government is held by the Arab parties.

Sport

Kane took the Ballon d'Or, Arsenal were knocked out by a fourth-tier side in Fleetwood, and Strumica said goodbye to a Belasica legend. In handball, Szeged are out of the Champions League, while Ohrid quietly lost Taleski. In basketball, MZT are still without a European win after round four, but at least Shorts carries a Macedonian passport among the best.

The heavier part of the day has a common denominator: the questions are asked in public, and the answers are late. The Interior Ministry on Gjorče Petrov, the Puls inspections we learn about from an indictment, the ministry that can't find the papers for its own buildings. How long will silence pass for an official answer?