The Levica political party is demanding accountability after it was revealed that over 2,600 copies of the second edition (2017) of the Orthography of the Macedonian Language were stored in unsuitable conditions at the National and University Library “St. Clement of Ohrid” – Skopje for seven years.

The discovery, made by the current NUB – Skopje director, has prompted Levica’s Culture Sector to call for responsibility from past directors Senka Naumovska (2017-2018), Frimzim Dauti (2018-2021), Jelizabeth Kostadinova (2021-2022), and Rametula Kuqi (2022-2024) for allegedly concealing the project’s incomplete execution and acting irresponsibly.

Levica also questions the Ministers of Culture responsible for the project’s million-dollar funding and subsequent neglect, given that the publication and distribution of the orthography’s second edition was considered a project of national importance financed by the Ministry of Culture.

The party further asks about the Ministry of Culture’s evaluation and monitoring processes, questioning the reliance on narrative reports without field inspections to verify how allocated funds were spent. They are also investigating if this case is further evidence of fraudulent reports on implemented projects across various sectors.

Despite the improper storage of the orthography copies, records indicate that only 11 copies are available in Macedonian libraries: two each in Vinica, Tetovo, and Kumanovo; single non-lending copies in Pehchevo’s library and the Faculty of Philology in Skopje; and three copies at the NUB “St. Clement of Ohrid” – Skopje.

An initiative led by the president of ZELS, Orce Gjorgjievski, in collaboration with NUB “St. Clement of Ohrid” – Skopje, has been launched to distribute the orthography copies to all primary schools throughout the country. The action follows the revelation of the 2,600 undistributed copies. These copies were originally intended for all public institutions, lectureships, and libraries both domestically and abroad.