Laws on how religious communities spend money in Macedonia may be legalized

It is public secrecy that large amounts of money from various donations are circulated in Macedonia's religious communities, yet no one knows or has no record of what the amount of money they can afford, where they receive it, where and how they spend it.

Under law enforcement law, their financing is done according to the arrangement for nonprofit organisations and public-type organisations, with self-finance, private philanthropy, donations and other forms of financing. The same ones manage revenues and cons, meanwhile during the year hand over financial report to the Public Revenue Directorate (DAP).
According to this, Of eventual abuses, responsible for investigation and investigation are DAP, the Financial Police, but also the MPB Economic Crime Sector, which, apart from in the case of financial abuses with Bishop Petar, is not remembered to have opened up any case for financial misuse by religious communities.

On the other hand, opinion under current laws, religious communities are not obliged to account for the circulation of their budget money, Which raises the issue, if any law is to be voted in the Assembly, so that religious communities in Macedonia are obliged to submit the annual financial report, except to DAP, to the Assembly as well.

Members of political parties in the Commission for Political Systems and Relations between Communities are divided over whether any new law on the issue is necessary. The LSDM and the EUSA Movement assess that there must be reasons for transparency, while the Alliance for Albanians and DUI say there should not be because the religious communities have not established the Parliament and they are independent.

It must be seen not to go into state-level secularism, to be well interpreted constitutional order, to be found in those empty countries where the law does not prohibit us from that part, to make and law. He's been thinking about that part before, but I don't know why he dropped out. We haven't thought at this point because we have other bigger challenges before us, yet, personally, if you ask me, I appreciate that it's irrevocable, because I think that there's money in them large sums and no one really knows where and if they're spent on real purposes. There must be financial control, however, when and in what way it's going to be done, at the moment I can't say and honestly say, it's not at the top of priorities, it's now the name issue, before a time it was the law on languages, after September, and then we can think, because we're going to exceed the priorities”, says about - I'm sorry. mk Aleksandar Kiracovski from LSDM, who is also chairman of the commission.

“Transparency of public institutions -- that is, even of religious communities -- is the inert need of a democratic society with Euro-Atlantic claims. I think this would have to be done first of all because of the correctness with the membership of religious communities, while the obligation for transparency to the state should be the legal norm. We would support any legal initiative that helps increase this transparency, but we should stress that we always remain interested not to interfere with the autonomy of their activities, because of the specificity of that activity. Therefore, I consider, even such legal norms should be adopted in co-operation with religious communities”, says Africa Gashi from the EUSA Movement.

The Alliance for Albanians and DUI say there are relevant institutions that can control their financial work and that the Assembly is not for that job.

It is the Financial Police, there are institutions, parliament examines regulatory bodies or institutions that spend budget tools. If Financial Police eventually suspect any financial problems, then the same could do” checks, says Rejail Ismaili from DUI.

I think the Parliament has a duty to review the financial work of institutions it established. The secularity of the state is to be respected because religious communities are independent. But, anyway, I think there are financial inspectors who need to control the eventual abuses”, he says. Surija Rashidi of the Alliance for Albanians.

The Commission for Relations with Religious Communities is on the same line. They also estimate that the Assembly should not make the review of financial reports, as relevant institutions can take control of them.

In the Republic of Macedonia, in accordance with the Constitution and the state, power is divided into that legislative one. The legislative house has no authorization to conduct oversight of financial reports or regular work of religious communities. The Public Revenue Directorate examines financial aspects from work, according to the law. According to all likelihood, even your respected media has so far acquired donations, understood in smaller values, but it would be pointless for the financial report to be examined in the legislative home. Executive power has the right to conduct oversight”, say about - I'm sorry. mk Convert EOL to LF The Commission on Relations with Religious Communities.

In the absence of official data, high-digit data for the financing of religious communities circulates through the opinion, yet the same cannot be witnessed. This opens the need for these communities of great interest and influence in our society to be more transparent about the financial issue.

Photos of saints on yachts and expensive cars that have encountered different reactions to how and where they took the money to lead luxury lives have been kept in the media.

Interestingly, it was with the Chairman of the Islamic Religious Community, Sulejman Rexhepi, who, apart from local newspapers, was found in foreign ones for a hand watch “Rolex” of the Yacht-Master type II 44mm. Which, as the media wrote, has cost 35 thousand and 500 euros. According to the media, the clock was given to his friends.

The last case, which also got the attention of opinion, was in February of this year when Bishop Petar wanted to cut off the mountain in a village in Resen, saying that trees have a disease, even though experts had testified otherwise. The occupants accused the bishop of trying to take money from wood to build a church.