Over 85 percent of readers want Government to publish cost of independence celebration

More than 85 percent of readers who took part in a recent online poll said the Government should reveal how much the country’s independence celebrations are costing.

Poll results

The poll recorded that exactly 85.35 percent of respondents want transparency from the executive branch about the cost of the celebration, while 14.05 percent oppose publishing that information. Only 0.59 percent answered "I don’t know."

The celebrations marking 35 years of independence began on the Ilinden holiday and continued through August with activities, concerts and events across the country under the banner "Silno svetnal den." The final event is scheduled for 8 September at the Todor Proeski Arena in Skopje, where DJ David Guetta will perform in cooperation with Avalon.

The Government has not yet provided the public with a breakdown of the expenses or indicated how much will be drawn from the state budget, a silence that prompted varied reactions among citizens and analysts.

Experts and analysts interviewed in connection with the poll stressed that the total sum of public spending must be known and that disclosure is not a matter for discretionary timing when public money is at stake. The executive said that "with regard to the specific organizational, programmatic and financial aspects, the public will be timely, fully and transparently informed, at the moment when all elements are finalized."

Critics have been vocal. "The government brazenly hides the costs of the anniversary celebration," said German Filkov, summing up the opposition voiced by some commentators and civic activists.

Photo: Sloboden pechat /Metodi Zdravev