SDSM: 11 weeks without report on Gostivar water and 50 settlements, while five mines are being pushed

SDSM said it has been nearly three months since the water poisoning incident in Gostivar and that authorities still have not produced a public report covering contamination found in some 50 settlements across the country.

"Eleven weeks have passed since the poisoning in Gostivar. Weeks have also passed since it was announced that in 50 settlements across Macedonia the water is unsafe to drink. Eleven weeks there is no report, no answers, no accountability. There is no answer who polluted the Lepenec and Vardar rivers," the party said in a statement today.

Planned mines and environmental risks

The opposition accused the government of Hristijan Mickoski of failing to guarantee clean water for citizens while simultaneously advancing plans for five new mines in the Draft Spatial Plan. The sites listed by SDSM are: Ilovica–Shtuka, Kazandol, Plavica, Kadiica and Luke, together with planned geological excavations on Kozhuf mountain.

SDSM singled out a planned antimony mine, noting that antimony is a metal used in military industry and that waste material from such operations can leach into soil, wells and crops. "Near old mines around the world, soil and water remain poisonous for years. They are often associated with arsenic. Harmful to the lungs, the liver, the skin, the heart," the party said.

The statement also claimed that data centers have already been arranged: a company announced it had secured access to "100Mw" of power and to the Vardar river, a move SDSM framed as further pressure on scarce water and energy resources.

SDSM demanded immediate publication of an official report on the contamination, clear answers about responsibility for pollution of Lepenec and Vardar, and full transparency about mining and data‑center agreements. The party said it will push for parliamentary oversight until authorities provide those answers.

Photo: press material from the event