Skopje, 25 January 2023 (MIA) – There are no cases of corruption and misuse of funds in North Macedonia’s active portfolio, World Bank Country Manager Massimiliano Paolucci said on Wednesday.

The funds are realized in accordance with the public procurement rules of the World Bank, which are in accordance with the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability.

“When a country gets loans from the World Bank, this is done in accordance with the rules of procurement and regulations aiming to avoid corruption, abuse and any other breach of the proper use of the funds for the intended purposes. If there are corruption rumors, internal processes are in place that consider whether they are fact-based. Should the facts be confirmed, there are procedures to report an incorrect procurement and call the state to responsibility. There are no such cases in North Macedonia’s active portfolio,” Paolucci explained in response to a reporter’s question about public finance management.

He also said that the country should continue to build fiscal buffers.

“We want to look at various percentages in North Macedonia to determine what it is doing right or wrong in terms of growth but we need to keep the timing of this information gathering in mind. There are many changes nowadays. The situation can change for the better or for worse in a matter of weeks. Keeping that in mind, North Macedonia should continue building essential fiscal buffers so that it can deal with the consequences that can materialize at any time. During the crisis management, the most vulnerable populations and economic activities were supported through the budget resources which would’ve been impossible without the buffers,” Paolucci said. dk/ik/