Skopje, 13 August 2024 (MIA) – Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski stated Tuesday that a call for applications will be issued for the position chief auditor of the IPA funds, following the dismissal of Afrona Verzivoli, who was proposed by the ‘Worth It’ coalition, as she did not possess an auditor’s license.

The government appointed Arben Ramadani as acting chief auditor in her place. He is an independent auditor in the sector for advancement of auditing. The government also appointed Ivan Ignjatov as deputy chief auditor of the audit body for the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. He holds a PhD in Economics with a thesis on "Development of a System for Audit and Control for the Effective Use of EU Funds."

The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption confirmed to Telma TV on Monday that the law clearly specifies who can be appointed as chief auditor and that it does not provide for an acting position for this role.

Mickoski, responding to journalists’ questions on Tuesday, stated that as a government, they work transparently and accountably, and that the mistake in appointing Verzivoli as chief auditor has been corrected.

“As a government, unlike previous governments, we work transparently and accountably before the citizens, and that mistake has been corrected by selecting qualified individuals for both the director and deputy director positions. The law allows this, and a competition will be announced, as the law does not prohibit it. The Anti-Corruption Commission says otherwise, but the law does not forbid what you are referring to, and today a public announcement will be made. Those currently acting in these positions will effectively be confirmed as the permanent solutions unless there are other interested candidates who meet the requirements,” Mickoski said.

He stated that if other interested candidates come forward after the announcement, their applications will be reviewed, and the government will proceed accordingly.

Photo: MIA archive