Kumanovo Mayor Maksim Dimitrievski strongly rejects the claims made by the Kumanovo branch of SDSM regarding the procedure for long-term domestic borrowing, describing them as inaccurate and manipulative.
He said that the Municipality of Kumanovo will use all legal mechanisms to prove the correctness of the procedure.
Below we publish Dimitrievski’s full reaction:
“I completely and strongly condemn and reject as malicious, inaccurate and manipulative the claims made at the press conference of the Kumanovo Municipal Organization of SDSM regarding the procedure for long-term domestic borrowing by the Municipality of Kumanovo. It is obvious that, lacking their own ideas and projects for the benefit of citizens, the local branch of SDSM has reduced itself to daily political games and the deliberate spread of disinformation, attempting to block the development of Kumanovo and sabotage key projects for a better life for all of us.
Their triumphalism, based on a preliminary and legally unfounded inspection report, is yet another proof of their desperate need to create a false image of alleged ‘illegality’ where there is only transparent and responsible work in the interest of citizens.
The borrowing procedure is fully legal, while the inspector’s findings are the result of an incorrect interpretation of the law
I hereby inform the public that the findings of the State Inspector for Local Self-Government, contained in Inspection Record IP1 No. 21-702 dated August 4, 2026, are completely unfounded and stem from a one-sided and literal interpretation of the law, which is in direct contradiction with other applicable legal provisions and with the very logic of the procedure.
Therefore, the Municipality of Kumanovo will, within the legally prescribed deadline, submit a detailed and reasoned objection to the aforementioned record, in accordance with Article 22 of the Law on the State Inspectorate for Local Self-Government. We are convinced of the correctness of our procedure and are prepared to prove it before all competent institutions, including the Constitutional Court, should the inspectorate, driven by political motives, persist in its intention.
For the sake of providing citizens with truthful information, I am obliged to explain that the procedure for long-term borrowing is a complex, multi-stage process, which SDSM and their party representatives in the inspectorate either do not understand or deliberately ignore:
1. The Council’s initial decision is only a first step, not final approval. The Decision on Long-Term Domestic Borrowing No. 09-9837/31, which is being challenged, does not constitute final approval of the loan. It is a mandatory and necessary prerequisite for initiating the procedure in the first place. Namely, Article 16, paragraph (4) of the Public Debt Law explicitly requires that, in order to obtain the consent of the Ministry of Finance, the municipality must submit precisely a ‘Decision on Borrowing’. Without this decision, the entire procedure is blocked at the very beginning.
2. The public hearing must be held when the borrowing conditions are known. According to Article 20, paragraph (2) of the Law on Financing the Units of Local Self-Government, the subject of the public hearing is the ‘description of the project and the conditions for its financing’. How can one discuss conditions (interest rates, deadlines, fees) when they are not yet known? The conditions become known only after obtaining the consent of the Ministry and collecting offers from commercial banks. Holding a public hearing before that would be pure formalism and a circumvention of the law and the will of citizens – something characteristic of SDSM, but not of us. Our intention is for the public hearing to be substantive, transparent and held before the final approval of the specific loan agreement, when citizens will be able to make decisions based on concrete and real data.
The inspector’s interpretation, which SDSM blindly supports, creates a legal absurdity and a procedural dead end that makes borrowing for capital projects practically impossible. This only confirms our thesis that this is not about concern for legality, but about deliberate political obstruction.
The goal of SDSM is to block Kumanovo, not to uphold the rule of law
The true goal of this coordinated campaign by SDSM and structures close to it within state institutions is to prevent the implementation of the ‘Eco-Efficient Public Enterprises’ project. This project envisages the procurement of new, modern waste collection vehicles for the Public Enterprise ‘Chistota i Zelenilo’ and the installation of photovoltaic systems for the Public Enterprise ‘Vodovod’, which directly improves public services and saves citizens’ money.
Instead of fighting for a cleaner city and cheaper water, SDSM councillors and their central party organization are fighting against this. Instead of welcoming responsible management, they file complaints and celebrate preliminary reports, hoping to stop Kumanovo’s development. This is the height of political hypocrisy and proof that, for them, party interests always come before the interests of citizens.
In their statement, they speak of ‘criminal intentions’ and demand ‘moral, political and legal responsibility’. Such qualifications are not only unfounded, but also defamatory. Case law clearly shows that although political debate allows for a higher degree of criticism, making false claims about alleged crimes constitutes grounds for civil liability. We will not stoop to their level and engage in lawsuits, because our time and energy are devoted to working for citizens, not to legal labyrinths. Nevertheless, the public should know that their methods are based on lies and fabrications.
We will prove the legality and implement the project
I assure the citizens of Kumanovo that we will not allow such daily political games to prevent us from achieving our set goals. The Municipality of Kumanovo will use all legal mechanisms to prove the correctness of its actions. We are convinced that every impartial institution will confirm what we are saying – that the procedure is legal and in the best interest of citizens. Administrative acts adopted on the basis of an incorrect interpretation of the law are regularly annulled by the courts. That is exactly what we expect in this case.
I call on the SDSM councillors, if they have even a little integrity and responsibility toward the citizens who elected them, to stop obstructing and start working for the good of Kumanovo. Their role is to act as a corrective to the government, not as its brake. Blocking projects is not politics, but destruction to the detriment of all of us.
We will continue to work with dedication, transparency and in accordance with the laws, for a modern and European Kumanovo.”