Manevski has mixed up the dates: When VMRO-DPMNE was in power, Macedonia’s corruption perceptions index deteriorated!

Just eight months after the coalition partners SDSM and DUI took office, Macedonia dropped from 66^th to 90^th position on the corruption index. That’s 24 positions down, which has put the Republic of Macedonia in company of some African countries.

[Source: VMRO-DPMNE’s press-conference, Mihajlo Manevski, date: 22 January 2018]

Today’s statement made by the incumbent Councilor at the City of Skopje and former Minister of justice from VMRO-DPMNE, Mihajlo Manevski, at the party’s press conference, is completely untrue. Plus, it encompasses untruthful data which can be checked in just 30 seconds. It’s simple, just go to Transparency International’s website, an NGO measuring the corruption perceptions index in 176 countries worldwide, and you can see there that the last ranking, published on 25 January 2017, is related to 2016, i.e. when the government of the Republic of Macedonia was comprised of Ministers from VMRO-DPMNE and DUI. This can be clearly seen from the screenshot below (open in a new tab to zoom):

Transparency International still hasn’t published newer research than this. The fact that Manevski talked about this particular research and not about some other, though he didn’t mention it, is shown in Transparency International’s latest research which ranked Macedonia at the 90^th spot, whereas the previous one, conducted by the same organization and related to 2015, ranked Macedonia at the 66^th spot. So, the rankings Manevski mentioned are correct, he has just mixed up the dates. There isn’t any other international research on corruption perceptions that first ranked Macedonia at the 66^th and then at the 90^th position. In fact, another research on global corruption, besides Transparency International’s, barely exists.

Owing to the fact that the deteriorated corruption ranking is for 2016, compared with 2015, when VMRO-DPMNE was in power, there are no chances that Macedonia has ranked 24 positions lower in “just eight months after the coalition partners SDSM and DUI took office”.

Putting all that aside, what’s really strange is how and why a high functionary from VMRO-DPMNE quoted a research by an organization, thus considering it relevant, which, among other donors, is supported and sponsored by the Open Society Foundations (OSF), whose main sponsor is George Soros. What’s more, this party spoke ill of them, conducted ubiquitous public media campaign in this country, conducted huge lobbying campaign in the USA worth more than 1 million USD, even instigated investigations against 21 Macedonian NGOs which have received donations by the Open Society Foundation (full disclosure: Metamorphosis Foundation, the publisher of Truthmeter, was amongst the victim organizations). And now, just 6-7 months after that campaign, they began quoting research findings of OSF-sponsored organization, as if VMRO-DPMNE never deemed such organizations as hostile, biased and what else not! When did these organizations and research of theirs become relevant to VMRO-DPMNE? Since when the quoting of findings and research conducted by those who you have execrated until several months ago have become principled and ethical?

SOURCES:

• Transparency International 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index, published on 25 January 2017 [accessed on 22 January 2018]
• Transparency International 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index, published before 1 February 2016 [accessed on 22 January 2018]

Assessed by: Vladimir Petreski

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