Milo Bozovic he promised the citizens of Budva 26 projects, and then won power. A year later, the promises are just a dead letter on paper, and the mayor is a detainee in Spuša prison.
Leading the Democratic Front to a convincing victory in the local elections and an absolute majority in the municipal assembly, Božović promised that Budva would become the European capital of culture, get a hospital, a modern promenade from the Old Town to Zavala, a sports and recreation center and a picnic area on Brajići... These are just some of the 26 projects that were included in the "Development Program Budva 2026". None, however, was realized.
According to the promises, the victory of DF was the announcement of the turning of a new leaf in the history of Budva, a city that needs to get a new face - urbanized, but the capital of tourism today is in the greatest political and institutional crisis.
And while the ruling majority from the ranks of the former DF cannot agree on who will be the candidates for the two vice-presidential positions, so that the official document is not brought to Božović to sign in the pre-trial detention center in Spuška, as in the past six months, Budva is threatened financial collapse - the arbitration tribunal in Frankfurt decided that the municipality must pay the German company WTE from Essen 40 million euros as a guarantee for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Bečići. The decision should be enforceable on October 23, which would allow the Germans to block the Municipality's account.
The coalition led by Božović did not want to answer to the "News" whether they fulfilled the promises made to the citizens, and what are the problems they are facing because the projects are not implemented.
The opposition is more than clear - early elections are the only solution, because the city is in a practically chaotic situation.
Looking back on the year after the election, the head of the Budva Democrats Krsto Radović for "Vijesti" he points out that the victory of the former DF in the elections was the product of "obviously great pressure and blackmailing of citizens in various ways from positions of absolute power and authority, as the ruling structure entered the elections with serious financial support, the basis of which we can now see." .
"Populist and megalomaniac promises that melted already with the first April sun and the fact that the President of the Municipality is deprived of his freedom. Furthermore, the blockade of all municipal institutions, uncertain payments of personal income, lack of implementation of the budget, investment, inadequate work of the Assembly and untimely decision-making important for the functioning of the city, nepotism, political employment on an unprecedented scale, pressure on employees who are politically dissidents, manifestation arrogance, out-of-system behavior and confirmation that for the sake of personal and narrow-party interests the city can be pushed into the mud, where the interests of citizens are meaningless and neglected, and intra-party divisions and disagreements will absolutely capture any possibility of overcoming this crisis of epic proportions".
Radović: Drowning victims before the whirlwind of court decisions
According to him, the Assembly was humiliated by adopting an initiative that would give support and legitimacy to the detained president.
"We witnessed the extremely primitive, pre-prepared eulogies of each member of the DF councilor to the individually imprisoned president, and then the closure of traffic on the roundabout as a sign of protest, which was quickly abandoned. In the end, we did not succeed in our intention to become the European capital of culture, obviously because the ruling clique did not have enough responsibility and courage to make a departure from the individual and, for the sake of the interests of the city and citizens, provide an unequivocal guarantee that a clean and functional institutional framework stands by and behind this application. her. The previous majority, of which Democratic Montenegro was a part, fell apart in Budva and we entered new elections for the reason that we could not find a common language, and colleagues did not leave their seats even at the cost of their lives. Then I resigned in order to overcome the crisis. History repeats itself, I state with regret, this time, even within their political subject, the gentlemen in power cannot find a compromise and a solution. The reason for this is obvious. At the moment, we are drowning before the whirlwind of court decisions and financial burden, and there is a stone-heavy rope around the neck of one man's resignation and his personal interest. We have to cut the rope and start new elections".
Tičić: The campaign resembled Milo Božović's show
President of the municipal committee of the Democratic Party of Socialists Milan Tičić he stated that a year ago, in the campaign for local elections, the population was told about hills and valleys.
"In a campaign that resembled the show of Milo Božović, who sat down in the chair of the first man of the Municipality just before the local elections, and after the forced administration was introduced, from which he was launched as the first man on the list of the pro-Serbian coalition in Budva, we had the opportunity to we see the model of the Budva hospital, the plan for the extension of Mediteranska street, Budva as the European capital of culture, and instead of excavated foundations for the construction of a health center, started work on the reconstruction of the busiest street, confirmation that Budva is the European capital of culture, we received the strengthening of the foundations for the implementation of uncontrolled employment of incompetent party members swindle, the local self-government that is leading Budva on the path of certain destruction and confirmation that the stories in which the criminal Božović plays the main role are not just Budva gossip, since he is now officially charged with drug trafficking".
Tičić assessed that Budva did not experience the promised prosperity under Božović, and that he, instead of in the office of the President of the Municipality, continued to flourish among the walls of Spuška:
"And that among them he sings a song about the danger of Milo Božović as a Serb and a Bokel, with a lack of awareness of the fact that he, together with the first team for the spread of Serbian nationalism in Montenegro, turned the Queen of the Mediterranean into a center of unculture and primitivism, a city chained by garbage, a suitable terrain for construction contractors just above the heads of tourists sunbathing on the beach or enjoying a stroll along the boardwalk. And this is not the end of this tragicomedy that, unfortunately, we are living, because the hands of the absolute majority in the local parliament cannot agree to appoint someone else to the position of the first man of the city, and a young man Jovanović (Nikola) said that they cannot do without Božović, even while he is in the prison cell. Be that as it may, whoever is chosen to be the successor of the imprisoned Božović, will sign in advance the end of his political career and the beginning of the end of the Democratic Front in Budva, which will also be official in the first upcoming elections, which they fear with reason, from which they run tirelessly ".
Rađenović: Choose a solution
Chairman of the board of the Civic Movement URA Budva Blazo Radjenovic says that it is now more than clear that the people who were given the mandate to manage the city did not justify the trust shown by the citizens, as well as the trust of the OO GP URA.
"OO GP URA Budva voted in SO Budva for the people who will implement the pre-election program when only crucial projects for the development of Budva are concerned (and the Budva development strategy, and the hospital, and the promenade, and JRB, and the Port of Budva, and the Citadel, and bypass project, and footbridges, and kindergarten, and school, and regulating the problem of parking, and regulating the problem of stormwater spillage, and the problem of sewage infrastructure, and the construction of a cultural center, the list of municipal property, but also many others). From all of the above, now a year later, we can state that the executive power and the local self-government have done literally nothing, on the contrary, we can talk about the condition of the Budva promenade during the past season, which has never looked worse", said Radjenović.
As he points out, all this should have been accepted as a real situation and resigned.
"Because while the leaders of the Municipality were fighting internal party battles and wars for supremacy in the local committee of the former DF, we received a bill of 40 million euros of money from all citizens that the Municipality will have to pay to the German company WTE, and unfortunately it will not end there . All this tells us that, as responsible people, the mandate of the Assembly should be shortened and the date of early local elections in Budva should be agreed. This is what the citizens told us during the parliamentary elections on June 11, where the support of the citizens for the current majority was almost cut in half. I believe that we will be responsible towards the citizens and institutions that need to prepare the next tourist season with quality and return Budva to the first place when it comes to the tourism offer of Montenegro, because with the current management method it is no longer that way. One thing is certain and the opinion among the citizens is undivided that neither Budva nor the citizens deserve this situation and the behavior of those responsible".
Odžić: The capital budget has hardly even been "started"
Budva SDP leader Petar Odžić told "Vijesti" that in the year since the elections in Budva, we have gone from the absolute power of the DF to the division of the DF into clans.
"From mega projects, hospitals, kindergartens, roads, to the fact that the capital budget has not even been 'started'. From the largest budget in the last 10 years to the fact that we now have the largest budget deficit in the budget rebalancing draft. The only thing that is higher than expected is current consumption and salary expenses. From megalomaniacal plans to the fact that without rebalancing we cannot pay wages to employees. The entire executive branch is in acting status, without the vice president and with the president absent. It is high time to realize that the Municipality of Budva is facing major financial challenges after the lost first-instance judgment of 29,3 million in connection with the guarantees of the Government of Montenegro, and the lost arbitration with the company WTE of 40 million, which also require a serious team in management positions, which will To get Budva out of the newly created situation, which for the umpteenth time is not at all enviable".
Ambitious program dead letter on paper
Božović's winning program envisaged the implementation of 26 projects during his four-year mandate, the first of which was the construction of a hospital.
The second project is the smart city and E-administration, which promotes that public administration must be a service for citizens always available to everyone. There is also the Old Town project, which as a cultural and historical pearl of Budva must be adapted and adequately protected for future generations.
In his "Budva 2026" program, Božović announced the relocation of the Municipality, the expansion of the central city park, the construction of the Stari grad - Rafailovići promenade, the completion of the decade-long construction of the promenade in Petrovac all the way to Perazić dol. The program also includes the construction of a new kindergarten in Bečići.
He announced aid programs for the establishment of companies specifically aimed at the development of rural and women's entrepreneurship.
Obtaining the status of the European capital of culture for 2028 will enable, as stated in the program, the transformation of Budva and the strengthening of its cultural offer throughout the year.
The construction of the Tom and Stana Luketić Cultural Center is also planned, as well as the renovation of the outdoor swimming pool at Pizana near the Old Town.
The bed of the Grđevica river, as written in the program, must be rehabilitated in order to build a passable road and a promenade.
The programs for the development of the rural area Budva city fortress, Brajići sports and recreational center and picnic area, Budva green city, sports city, a good place to live for all citizens, Dubovica sports and health recreation center...
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