Letters from the readers

The Non-Governmental Organizations – Support To The Citizens

In attempt to preserve their associations, the inhabitants of the villages Orman and Volkovo have organized to stop building the motorway around Skopje (Going roundabout Skopje) because it is to pass via both of the villages and can be a potential danger to the population’s lives in the villages.

The project “Going roundabout Skopje” as an idea dates from the ‘60s and it has been present in the urbanistic plan of the city for a long time. However, the idea to unburden the city of the heavy traffic and pollution, the noise and the traffic jam and to build a motorway to provide all this, came across a lot of problems.

In 2001 the inhabitants asked the Arterial and Regional Roads Fund to displace the road from several reasons: the motorway has been projected to pass very close to the drinking water reservoir and it is very likely to crack or to be polluted during the building or after that; the motorway is to pass via church property and the cemetery in Volkovo, thus desecrating the property and violating the church ceremonies; the motorway is going to take a large part of futile land which is the main source of existence for the local population.

The citizens’ association Proaktiva has actively followed the development of the project and ever since the beginning it has been on the side of the inhabitants from both villages, completely supporting them and their requirements. Within five months, the national coordinator for CEE Bankwatch Network, Ana Cholovic, a member of Proaktiva, actively lobbied at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development since this financial institutions is planning to grant a credit of about 20 million euro for the project. This credit granted by the bank of Macedonia is to be paid off in the course of the next ten years by each citizen of the country when paying various taxes. This is what gives right to the Macedonian citizens to oppose such a project as “Going roundabout Skopje” from reasons that it endangers their lives.

As a result of the many months lobbying, at the moment, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing a freelance consultant to examine the project and its risky and sensitive points in order to realize the possibility to modify the project according to the population’s requirements. The consultant is going to give his opinion in the middle of July.

It is obvious that in such cases the population needs help from associations and non-governmental organizations which can help and offer support. Therefore the associations and organizations’ significance and role are of great importance. The non-governmental organizations do not represent the people, they are their voice which has to be listened and respected in every society.

Proaktiva