Wiretapping scandal set 20: The Prime Minister employs “pets”
The recordings from this set present once again the control that VMRO-DPMNE’s highest officials have over various institutions in the country. In the first conversation we hear what Jankuloska and Martin Protugjer have to say about the procedure of, as Zoran Zaev said in the press conference, Zhivko Popovski, the father of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Popovski. He, as a director of the Civil Aviation Agency, fired the president of the Trade Union due to disobedience. Jankuloska says if they had dealt with the situation differently, the air-traffic controllers would have been under VMRO-DPMNE’s control because of that man.
Then, we hear that the faculties have to be stuffed with “party” demonstrators, and the ones “from SDS” will not be allowed to “pass” the open competitions. However, the neutral ones are a problem, but Jankuloska has the solution for them – their contract won’t be extended after the academic year is finished.
The following conversation is between Sasho Mijalkov and Jankuloska, and in it we find out that VMRO-DPMNE is determined to purge the “commies”, right at the beginning of the mandate, so later “they would have 4 years of peace”. Next, we hear a devious plan for a purge in the Ministry of Interior – first to announce that they need new employees, in order to employ people upon party’s decision, and everyone who sue the MOI will become surplus “and they can go work in ‘Makedonski Shumi’ and they can sue as much as they want…”, Jankuloska says. She emphasizes that such move will be a lesson for the others. Also, the Minister is bothered by those who are against the public servants exam, therefore several job positions will be suspended “and they can all bugger off…”
The next conversations reveal high figure remunerations for people from the coalition parties, reveal that Sasho Mijalkov does the trick in ELEM, reveal that the “public” working positions are stuffed via VMRO-DPMNE’s municipal committees, but also upon the order and the direct selection of Nikola Gruevski, who does not let even Goran Trajkovski from the Public Revenue Office (PRO) to assess who can be employed in the PRO. Trajkovski wanted to pull some strings, however Gruevski requests from Jankuloska to clean the way, so the pulling of strings will go via himself and his people.
Afterwards, we hear a conversation between Protugjer and Jankuloska, in which Protugjer solicits a job position for the party’s driver, who should not go to work, just to be registered as employed. Jankuloska suggests that man could work in the vehicle section “at her place” and also adds that the chief of MOI’s vehicle section is “their guy”, so “the driver” could do the “party things” without any problem popping up.
Later on, we hear a conversation in which Gruevski and Jankuloska talk about five party employments in the Military hospital prior the elections. The director has said that this is a problem, because if he employs the ordered ones, he won’t be able to employ the required specialists, and some departments could not function. Gruevski has a solution: the ones from “the party” should be employed immediately, and after the elections a consent will be issued for employing the really needed doctors. From the other conversation we find out that the “party employment agency” also includes Jankuloska’s husband Vlatko, who is employed in Gruevski’s cabinet, besides herself. We can hear that the director of the City hospital was employing whoever he wanted, saying that he had the Prime Minister’s permission, but he ought to follow the directions given by VMRO-DPMNE. Now he must find a way to employ the ones from the party’s list or he will be replaced with a more obedient successor.
Then, we hear Mijalkov and Jankuloska arranging party employments in the MOI, i.e. to employ more people than the number of the people who will be retired that year. Mijalkov complains that a great deal of people from the ASCI will retire, that their operative has fallen down, and the workload is increased because of “these creatures”. Mijalkov says that ASCI needs at least 100 new employees. It is a tragic situation, and Mijalkov urgently requires employment for 20-30 people, because “the opening of 7th May”, because there cannot be an opening without people. Mijalkov also admits that there are not enough people to work with the cameras, or other stuff – helicopters, various technics… “Literally we are a disaster, we have not enough employees” says Mijalkov. Jankuloska says that a great deal of money is given for the equipment and “there is no use of the equipment if there are no people to operate it”.
Furthermore, thanks to Zoran Stavreski we find out about the damage caused by Mijalkov and Gruevski and their party employments – he says “We pile them up!” commenting that people are employed in libraries, in museums… everywhere Gruevski pleases he employs his “pets”.
In the next two conversations we hear that public prosecutors have been appointed upon the order of Sasho Mijalkov, and among them is Gordana Geshkovska, known for the disputable cases of A1 TV station, Global, Izgrev, Bachilo… and also how the Public Prosecution Office is falling under the party’s control by employing other prosecutors. Then we hear about the former president of the Judiciary Council, Branko Ushkovski. He was the one who “barely passed through the municipal committees of VMRO-DPMNE in order to become a member of the Judiciary Council”. He was suggested by RIsto Novachevski, the marital best man of Nikola Gruevski, the major figure that helped Gruevski with the building plots on Mount Vodno. When it comes to Branko Ushkovski, Trajko Veljanoski says that “this man does not know beans about judiciary” and Jankuloska admits that “He was not appointed because he was the most handsome”.
Press conference of Zoran Zaev, president of SDSM, in Skopje, 14th of April 2015
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