On Thursday, after it had been reported that M-NAV had employed Ivana Jug, the widow of Igor Jug, one of those convicted in the trial over the 27 April 2017 storming of Parliament, Atanas Stamnov, who’s married to the Central Registry’s Director, Anita Stamnova, and Filip Gjorgjiev, Vice-President of VMRO-DPMNE’s Union of Youth Forces, SDSM fiercely criticised the ruling party over the matter, accusing it of partisanship of the institution in charge of air traffic safety.
“All of this is yet another proof that VMRO-DPMNE is turning M-NAV into a party branch instead of into a professional service that protects lives”, the opposition party said.
SDSM added that staff that met all criteria had been rejected.
“Some of the candidates were favoured even though they didn’t know English, whereas the other candidates, without partisan strings, were rejected. To make matters more scandalous, the interviews were conducted by directors of M-NAV’s Managing Board, without representatives of the Trade Union of Flight Controllers”, it stressed.
The opposition party called for the job ad to be abolished. In response, however, VMRO-DPMNE stated that it was SDSM and DUI that had scandalously employed relatives during the previous cabinet’s term.
In that regard, the ruling party pointed to, among others, Veton Kadri, son of MP Shpresa Kadri and Laze Taneski, a relative of ex-minister Goran Sugareski.
Nikolce Taseski, an in-law of former minister Renata Deskoska was appointed President of M-NAV’s Managing Board, while among the other employees there, VMRO-DPMNE added, are Karpos Mayor Stevco Jakimovski’s son, a cousin of former Minister Jagoda Sahpaska, ex-minister Bujar Osmani’s sister, an in-law of ex-1st Deputy PM Artan Grubi, two in-laws and the son of ex-DUI MP Ejup Alimi, and a nephew of Bekim Neziri, “detained as the leader of the group of beaters [during the January 2024 incident]”. “SDS[M] and DUI are synonymous with nepotism”, the ruling party stressed.
M-NAV’s Trade Union, too, however, reacted, saying that the ad shouldn’t have been published to begin with. It will report the case to labour inspectors and request that the employments be abolished.