Andonovski: The foundations have been laid, work on digitalization and service improvement will continue

Minister Stefan Andonovski said today that the Ministry of Digital Transformation began its activity two years ago in a small space meant to serve as an office, amid inherited problems, substandard working conditions, a lack of system and disorder in the organization of employees. According to him, the challenge was not easy, but he said that together with his team they worked tirelessly, day and night, to build the path of the new ministry that provides services to citizens.

Presenting the report on the work carried out, Andonovski stressed that in just two years, together with his team, they had managed to build an institution worthy of respect. He underlined that 11 fundamental priorities had been defined from the very beginning.

According to him, this is not a report focused on presenting figures, but an overview showing whether the state is becoming more accessible to citizens.

Andonovski recalled that when he took office, he found inherited lawsuits from private companies, former employees, as well as from the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and Macedonian Radio Television, worth millions.

The minister stressed that they had inherited a damaged vehicle fleet, without a single functional vehicle and without accurate descriptive data. He also said that projects of vital importance had remained blocked, including the broadband internet project, the debt to the Digital Europe programme, blocked applications and a suspended IPA project for the digitalization of services. He added that in some cases criminal complaints had also been filed against former ministers and officials for abuse of public procurement procedures and official position. According to Andonovski, there were systems that worked intermittently, institutions that did not exchange data and IT legislation that was last seriously aligned with European rules in 2018. Nevertheless, he said they fought, overcame the obstacles and accelerated progress.

He stressed that the objective was clear: for the system to move from declarations to concrete services.

Andonovski said they were aware that citizens do not expect excuses as to why something was not done earlier, but demand solutions, deadlines, accountability and results. He underlined that in Macedonia there has long been talk of digitalization, with strategies, portals, systems and reforms announced, but citizens have often not seen real changes in everyday life. According to him, that practice had to stop, because a reform that is not felt by citizens is not a completed reform, while digitalization that does not reduce bureaucracy remains only a technical project and not a political change. Therefore, he said their approach had been simple: fewer excuses and words, and more work.

The minister said that in 2025, the Ministry ranked first for transparency among institutions in the country.

He also announced that the Western Balkans Digital Summit had been organized with more than 1,000 participants from across Europe, placing the Ministry and the Government on the map of institutions implementing EU initiatives and reforms. According to him, based on the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index, Macedonia has climbed 22 places and moved into category A, with a score of 0.76, compared with 0.57 in 2023.

As the first and most important change, Andonovski highlighted the focus on the national portal uslugi.gov.mk.

He said this portal was intended as the central digital gateway for state services, but for years had remained underdeveloped and unused. According to him, the situation is different today. The number of electronic services on the portal increased from 120 in 2024 to 352 in 2026, representing growth of 193%. Meanwhile, the monthly number of services issued rose from 1354 in 2024 to 13,435, or 892% more, almost nine times more than before. He added that the number of users increased from 110,000 to 267,000, while the total number of submitted requests rose from 64,000 to 340,000.

According to Andonovski, more than 92,000 new users were registered on the portal during the past year alone, more than the total number of new users in 2020, 2021 and 2022 combined.

He stressed that this shows citizens have started using the portal because they finally find the services they need there. Today, according to him, citizens can obtain birth, marriage and death certificates, citizenship certificates, certificates proving they have not been convicted, permits for the purchase of weapons, as well as dozens and hundreds of other services entirely digitally. Andonovski highlighted that the procedure for student vouchers for the purchase of electronic devices for more than 40,000 students was also carried out entirely electronically through the portal. According to him, this means applying online, without rush and chaos, without unnecessary documents and without reports of corruption or non-transparent distribution.

He added that this is precisely the essence of digitalization: when the system is clear, controllable and equal for everyone, the space for subjectivity and abuse is reduced.

Andonovski said the second priority was to physically bring state services closer to citizens, not only in digital form. He recalled that by 2024 there were only five service centers, in Skopje, Tetovo, Kumanovo, Bitola and Ohrid. According to him, today there are 16 service centers, with new locations in the municipality of Aerodrom, Jegunovce, Shtip, Kavadarci, Vinica, Sveti Nikole, Negotino, Delchevo, Prilep, Strumica and Krushevo.

In the end, Andonovski stressed that the foundations have now been laid and that the Ministry, as he put it, will continue advancing digitalization and services.