Macedonian officials' expensive tastes wear off

According to restaurant bills he provided B The INR, former senior officials in Macedonia, enjoyed wine and expensive dinners at taxpayers' expense.

The restaurant bills and what some Macedonian ministries gave BIRN since the change of government in May show that some former ministers and senior officials were not spared at all when it came to buying food and drink with taxpayers' money.

Shell made of deer meat, squid with tomato sauce, shrimps with almond sauce, octopus on olive oil, roasted pork, wild deer cooked in steam, duck meat and expensive yellow were just some of the orders made by former Government Secretary General Kiril Bozinovski during 2016 show the bills.

Although data does not show how many people tried these tasty foods along with Bozinovski, it results in record holder, judging by the total amount spent, over 6,000 euros he spent on services “the representation” last year.

Most of this was commissioned with Bozinovski's official card, issued by the government and intended to be used for “representative purposes”. Some of it is also paid with bills.

Using the Law on Information Law, BIRN was able to secure bills showing expenses from other officials.

Former Minister of Informatic Society and Administration Timco Mutunski spent about 2,500 euros ordering everything from beef, lamb, salmon, fish, whiskey, wine, beer and cigarettes at state expense.

Some of the restaurant bills Mucunski ate amounted to 200 euros. Most of these are done during normal working hours, but some are also done during night hours.

By comparison, the average monthly salary in Macedonia is slightly more than 300 euros. However, official statistics show that most Macedonians earn less than that.

Former Secretary of State in the same ministry, Jahi Jahia, spent more than 3,000 euros in 2016, with restaurant bills ranging from 40 to 400 euros.

The data provided by BIRN does not reveal all Yahia's culinary orders, but in one case last year he spent almost 150 euros on ten kilos of nuts and Indian nuts.

Former Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture Behihxdin Sehabi spent about 2,500 euros last year, with bills showing he bought chewing gum, cigarettes and candy at gas stations using taxpayers' money.

The record of spending some officials, made available for the first time in recent history, has caused anger and ridicule in public.

Some people on social networks have posted photos of their extravagant meals in the form of suggestions on what these officials might want to try on at taxpayers' expense.

The government said it will soon impose stricter and more unifying rules for these expenditures to curb the luxurious customs of some state officials.

It is not clear whether some of these costs will be controlled by authorities to determine any possible legal responsibility.