Skopje, 3 October 2024 (MIA) -- The Ministry of Local Self-Government is working on a bill to replace the current Law on Local Self-Government, which is 20 years old and makes no provision for dismissing a local mayor, so current mayors can stay in their posts until their terms in office expire; also, the possibility of establishing communal police forces is being considered, Minister of Local Self-Goverment Zlatko Perinski told a press conference Wednesday.

Perinski said the bill should be reviewed both by local and international experts. "We need to intervene in this law through a wide consensus," he said, adding that the expert public should help "change this legal anomaly."

He addressed the media during one in the series of press conferences held this week to mark the government's first 100 days in power.

The new law could also make it possible to form communal police squads that would prevent the destruction of public property. "Every day we face the problem of people destroying urban property that local self-governments have invested into and then left unprotected," Perinski said.

"This is why we think the Law on Communal Activities, which was drafted by another ministry, should be amended and updated to ensure better safeguarding, protection of the self-governments' investments into infrastructure. Our intention is to acknowledge the communal police in the Law on Local Self-Government so we can prevent this deviant behavior," he said.

Examples of broken equipment on children's playgrounds and outdoor sports areas are many. This July, the Municipality of Centar released citizen videos made at a Kapishtec playground showing teenagers destroying the equipment.

According to Kisela Voda Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski in a recent TV appearance, it should be legal to dismiss mayors who were not up to the job they were elected to perform.

"Mayors have great power and cannot be replaced until the next election," Gjorgjievski said, voicing his support for the law in the making.

"This is the case with the Skopje Mayor [Danela Arsovska] and some others. There should be a control mechanism for holding them accountable to the public. Every mayor, at the beginning of their term in office, should be aware they could be replaced earlier than expected," he said. mr/