Skopje, 19 July 2023 (MIA) - When the perception of corruption becomes so great, it is not only addressed to politicians but to everyone however, politicians should be first and be an example of how we should all do our jobs with professionalism and integrity, no matter our position. I do not only mean politicians as members of Government, but politicians in all segments - legislative and local government, because the creation and implementation of policies varies, and awareness and responsibility at all levels should be equally high, Deputy PM for good governance policies, Slavica Grkovska, said in response to a reporter's question on the role politicians play in the fight against corruption, after Wednesday's session of the National Convention on the European Union in North Macedonia (NCEU-MK) entitled “Dealing with and fighting corruption and protecting the financial interests of the state.”

"Regarding the cabinet's activities in the last year and a half, I am satisfied with how many questions we opened in a short amount of time, and how many of those issues we managed to resolve. We have an obligation and cooperation with the State Audit Office to observe their report findings, and we also monitor their further implementation, whether there are any corrections or not. Based on the Cabinet's reactions and SAO's findings, not one director was chosen during yesterday's session, which I believe shows that the Government is listening and reacting to the findings from these institutions that contribute to the reduction of illegal actions by institutions and representatives of those institutions," Grkovska said.

Commenting on the latest announcement on the expansion of the U.S. State Department's "black list" for the 19 new entities from the Western Balkans, including North Macedonia, Grkovska said that any help is always welcome, but the main responsibility is ours.

"Any help is welcome in the fight against corruption, and the help we received from the United States and other partners is of great importance and plays a big role in successfully managing the fight against corruption. I look forward to seeing the expanded list. The names that have been published are an introduction to the coming process, although I can say that, the main responsibility is ours, our institutions, leaders, and all of us. We have to prove, in every possible way, that we can and that we have the capacities to create a society and institutions that can successfully deal with any problem," the Deputy PM stressed. ssh/nn/