Lease of Bitola Cultural Centre Illegal

27 June 2006

The informal coalition of several Bitola-based youth NGOs reacted on the decision of the Ministry of Culture to rent the space at the Bitola Cultural Centre and the �Army Club� for non-cultural purposes.

Jasmina Tosevska from LINK

In February of this year, the Ministry decided to lease a total of 380 square meters of office space on a five-year lease, at extremely low rent and without completion of a proper tender competition. One month later, in March 2006, the lease was extended for another five years.

�We ask Minister Stefanovski, himself a Bitola man, to give an explanation of this decision. He should also address the allegations that the offices were rented to a close relative of one member of the Government Cabinet�, said Jasmina Tosevska from LINK.

The lease was issued for use of the space for purposes other than cultural production and presentation. Although the decentralization process prescribed that the property of the Cultural Centre and the Army Club will be transferred to the Municipality of Bitola, it never materialized.