The Public Enterprise Collector System - Skopje in 2024 invoiced only 33% of the purified water discharged, and with accumulated liabilities of 493,108 thousand denars, or more than 8 million euros, and a blocked account since its establishment, the enterprise faces serious financial challenges, reduced liquidity and risks to the sustainability of operations, the State Audit Office revealed in the financial report along with the compliance audit of the Public Enterprise Collector System - Skopje, for 2024. Situations, irregularities and non-harmonization in the functioning of the public enterprise have been found and due to their significance, an unfavorable opinion has been given on the reality and objectivity of the financial statements for 2024, as well as on compliance with legal regulations, guidelines and established policies. The public enterprise does not have full control over claims against related companies and, as of 31.12.2024, did not conduct an assessment of their collectability and value reconciliation, Gazeta Express reports from Portalb.mk."
In the commercial books and financial statements on December 31, 2024, claims against related companies, NP "Water Supply" Ohrid and NP "Water Supply and Sewerage" Struga, in the total amount of 364.491 thousand denars, respectively 5.926.683 euros, were recorded, which were received based on the status change and relate to users connected to the collector system until 30.06.2019. Considering that the connected enterprises have the connection bases and have prepared the user invoices by 2020, but they have no economic interest in taking measures for the timely prosecution of unpaid claims, as these claims represent obligations towards the Public Utility System Collector - Skopje, in practice they encourage their settlement (deletion). Due to the lack of analytical support and limited impact on the collection process, the assessment of collectability was not performed, resulting in an unobjective presentation of the enterprise's financial position for 2024. The infrastructure facilities (pipeline, pumping stations and treatment station), built more than 35 years ago for a total value of 129.948 thousand denars (2.112.976 euros), have not yet been registered in the cadastre of infrastructure facilities, which is an integral part of the Real Estate Cadastre, the report states. Except for the 812 m² land (pumping station in Podmolje), NP Sistemi Kolektorik - Skopje does not possess ownership certificates for the infrastructure facilities - the 40,9 km long pipeline, the pumping stations, the wastewater treatment plant, as well as for the land underneath them. The Central Registry of the Republic of North Macedonia has not yet registered the part of the basic capital received in the amount of 251.452 thousand denars (4.088.650 euros), in accordance with the statutory change - the merger of the Public Utility Company Kolektor Struga as part of the Intermunicipal Public Enterprise 'Proakva', from June 2019. "In 2024, legal services were paid with a lump sum fee in the amount of 519 thousand denars (8.439 euros), without relevant documentation, based on the contract from 2020, with unfavorable contractual obligations and significant financial consequences. The contract is concluded for a period of 10 years, while in the event of unilateral termination of the contract, the company is obliged to respect the 90-day work release deadline and to pay a one-time compensation in the amount of 1.440 thousand denars, increased by VAT, as well as to regularly pay the monthly lump sum fee and expenses during the work release period. "From its establishment until the day of the audit, the enterprise has not received a permit for the collection, transmission and treatment (purification) of wastewater, which is issued by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning," the report states. The collector system is not equipped with flow meters to measure the amount of incoming wastewater, the SCADA system for full control and monitoring is missing, while the enterprise does not even have aggregates for backup electricity supply. The enterprise does not have its own information system for the evidence of users of the collector network, therefore, for this purpose it uses the systems of the Public Enterprise "Water Supply" Ohrid, the Public Enterprise "Water Supply and Sewage" Struga and the Public Enterprise "Debarca". Only about one third (33%) of the discharged purified water has been billed (in 2024 the billed water is 3.736.453 m³, while the discharged purified water is 11.300.390 m³), which indicates serious technical and physical deficiencies in the network, as well as an increase in the level of polluted waters. The data show that when groundwater and atmospheric waters are present, the ratio between billed water and discharged water is higher, while when groundwater is reduced and atmospheric waters are excluded, the ratio decreases. The public enterprise, the founder and the municipalities in the region, through action plans and programs investment, have not contributed sufficiently to the removal and treatment of polluted waters and the protection of Lake Ohrid. Financial indicators for 2024, in relation to total liabilities of 493.108 thousand denars (8.018.016 euros), indicate an increased risk of a decrease in the company's liquidity; namely, the payment period for liabilities to suppliers is 1.139 days or more than 3 years, while the average collection period for claims is 333 days or approximately one year. The liquidity situation has further deteriorated due to liabilities to natural persons, on whose land, allocated through expropriation, infrastructure facilities have been built or installed and for the use of that land the public enterprise pays the relevant rent, as well as due to the blocked account of the enterprise since 2020, immediately after its establishment. The enterprise operates with a minimum of 10.800 thousand denars per month, in accordance with the Decision of the Basic Court in Ohrid. The audit emphasizes the necessary need to prepare a financial stability plan, which will include a realistic assessment of liquidity risks, a time frame for unblocking the account and settling liabilities, measures to reduce dependence on short-term borrowing, priority collection of claims and optimization of expenses, in order to ensure the stability and long-term sustainability of the enterprise's operation. Recommendations have been given to overcome the identified situations with the aim of undertaking measures and activities by the competent institutions and responsible persons. We recall that in the previous report, the State Audit Office on the financial statements of the Ministry for Inter-Community Relations expressed an unfavorable opinion regarding the veracity and objectivity of the financial statements and compliance with legal regulations, guidelines and established policies. The audit conducted identified situations that indicate weaknesses in the way of recording and using the resources available to the Ministry of Community Relations. The auditors have found that the registration of assets and liabilities for the period and the status until 31.12.2024 has not been fully implemented, in which case 28% of fixed assets with a current value of 1.565 thousand denars, or 25.360 euros, were not found during the annual registration of fixed assets, while as a result of the lack of practice for issuing receipts for charging employees with the equipment that was given to them for use, 30 portable computers (laptops) were also not found during the registration.
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