The Parliament passed Tuesday the law on borrowing a loan by the Republic of North Macedonia at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the lending arm of World Bank Group, to finance the project for urgent management of COVID-19.
The Finance Ministry says the loan worth EUR 90 million aims to prevent, detect and respond to the threat of COVID-19 and strengthen national public health preparedness systems in the country.
Opposition MPs said the law would plunge the country into new debts at the people’s expense, adding it is not clear what the money would be spent for.
Deputy Finance Minister Dimitar Kovachevski explained that the funds would be distributed by the Implementation Unit within the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, in accordance with the World Bank principles, whereas procurement would undergo audit.
“All procurements will go through the World Bank procedures,” underlined Kovachevski.
