Skopje, 25 December 2023 (MIA) – The powers and resources of the City of Skopje in dealing with air pollution are limited. What is in our domain has been fully implemented, and the Environment Ministry should come out with recommendations, said Skopje Mayor Danela Arsovska, pointing out that the number of inspections by the City has tripled in 2023, as well as the number and amount of fines imposed and charged against polluters.

According to Arsovska, results will not get any better unless all institutions act.

In response to a reporter's question on Monday, she noted that despite the fact that many landfills have been cleaned by the City of Skopje, and polluters regularly detected, the problem still required the involvement of a larger number of institutions.

"We fully carry out all our duties, but I must reiterate that everyone needs to decide and take measures because despite the fact that we file criminal charges, have so many landfills cleaned, our resources are still limited on our own, and until everyone decides to work in this direction the results will not get any better than they were in the past 30 years," said Arsovska. 

She added that the City of Skopje has increased the number of imposed fines and inspections. However, she pointed out, the City of Skopje also includes ten municipalities, there is an Environment Ministry, a State Environment Inspectorate, and many other municipal, local and central authorities, all of whom need to be involved.

In addition, Arsovska noted that councilors of the City of Skopje have refused to vote in favor of eco-friendly public transport and free city transport. 

"Only joint action will contribute to resolving this issue. We must admit that with our capacities and with all the obstructions we face, we have done a lot, but we cannot do all that is necessary to resolve this issue alone. In addition, the councilors of the City of Skopje have refused for a whole year to vote in favor of eco-friendly buses and in favor of free city transport, so that our citizens can have free transport like in other European countries, a practice that we see gives fantastic results in some countries and has a very large share in the fight against pollution because citizens leave their cars and use safe and efficient public transport, which is also free," Arsovska said. 

Photo: MIA