Financial Struggles of National Forests Enterprise
In a recent interview, Zdravko Trajanov, the new director of the National Forests Enterprise, revealed that the public company is facing severe financial difficulties due to a blocked bank account. He stated that the enterprise cannot sustain itself with a self-financing budget. Trajanov questioned, “Why have we been brought into such a situation? The previous authorities should answer that. They allowed this public enterprise, which deals with one of the most important resources in the country—wood—to be in this predicament. It raises the question of why the former government, knowing the significance of this enterprise, permitted it to have a blocked account.”
The blocked account has triggered a domino effect, leading to unpaid salaries, unpaid taxes, and, most dangerously, a lack of production. Trajanov explained, “This enterprise is funded through its activities, primarily the production of wood assortments. In this situation, the company has been paralyzed, and instead of achieving a production level of 350,000 cubic meters, it barely manages 90,000 cubic meters. Therefore, one issue is the losses incurred, while the second is the destroyed production capacity.”
He also noted the total demoralization of the workers, strikes, and the alarming reality that forests are left at the mercy of various criminal elements involved in forestry in Macedonia. “It is entirely logical to assign blame for mismanagement here, as wood—recognized as a resource and category in the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia—should not be left to the whims of those who exploit the forestry sector,” he added. Trajanov also mentioned that they barely managed to maintain partnerships with companies like Makpetrol, EVN, and Telekom amidst these challenges.
Furthermore, he pointed out that newly hired workers, despite being employed as loggers, have been assigned administrative tasks instead. “In a situation where the enterprise was in catastrophic condition, the management from the previous administration served political interests rather than the needs of the company. The latest job postings, ostensibly for loggers, include around 400 positions, with one advertisement seeking 320 and another 40. What is happening here? Under the guise of hiring loggers, political structures are being employed. Within just a few days, almost all of these newly hired loggers, except for a couple of individuals, are receiving work orders to join the administration,” Trajanov explained.
He further elaborated that the reality is that while on paper there are supposedly 320 loggers, in practice, these are individuals embedded within the administration. “Now we have a problem with these individuals; they are reluctant to fulfill their job responsibilities. They accepted employment as loggers, but many have been tragically manipulated into this role. Forestry engineers and technicians are being humiliated to participate in this recruitment process just to secure permanent employment,” Trajanov said.
Additionally, the director mentioned that between 80 and 140 employees from the enterprise assist daily in firefighting efforts.
