The new directory of the municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia promoted THERE IS A GREAT GAP BETWEEN SKOPJE, THE URBAN AND THE RURAL MUNICIPALITIES The municipality and development project budgets do not result in a social cohesion and overcoming the gaps, especially the urban-rural ones, was one of the conclusions from the event for promoting the new Directory of municipalities in Macedonia, which took place on 29 November 2006 at The Holiday Inn Hotel in Skopje and was organized by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) and the Union of Local Government Units (LGU). On 29 November this year at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Skopje, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) together with the Union of Local Government Units (ZELS) promoted the new edition of the Directory of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia.  The new Directory of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia offers interesting information on all 84 municipalities and the City of Skopje. The 246-page Directory offers a number of other information apart from the general contacts, such as the demographic data, the municipality structure and the information on the institutions under a certain municipality authority. The publishing of the new Directory was greeted by the Minister of Local Government, Mr. Zoran Konjanovski, the ZELS president, Mr. Andrej Petrov and the MCIC executive director, Mr. Saso Klekovski. Mr. Klekovski presented some of the information covered by the Directory. According to it, there are great development gaps between Skopje and the other regions in Macedonia, as well as between the urban and the rural areas. Moreover, the general picture is worsened by the lack of local development strategy, especially in the rural areas. The absence of such a strategy only broadens the gaps. According to the general data provided by the municipalities themselves, the main local economic development priorities are considered to be the agriculture, the small businesses and the communal infrastructure, while the main economic branches are the agriculture, the small businesses (trade, textile) and the communal infrastructure. According to the Directory, the main environmental priorities are the solid waste management and the drainage of fecal waste waters. “The municipality and the development project budgets do not result in a social cohesion and overcoming the gaps, especially the urban-rural ones, said Klekovski in his presentation, and the “high level of development projects despite the Government participation depends on the foreign assistance”, he added. The Directory of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia was printed in Macedonian, Albanian and English and it is available in a hard copy and in electronic form. The publication (including a free CD) costs 300 MKD and it can be obtained at MCIC.