Why was it proposed that the state pharmacy institution Montefarm borrow 15 million in order to pay part of the money that the Health Fund owes to drug suppliers, even though this money is allocated in this year's budget, is a question that "Vijesti" could not get an answer from the Ministry of Finance yesterday. There was no response from the Ministry of Health as to why they agreed to that proposal.
In the Ministry of Finance, headed by Radoje Žugić, they officially stated for "Vijesti" that the proposal on Montefarm's debt was sent from the Ministry of Health, headed by Budimir Šegrt.
In the information on outstanding obligations for medicines, adopted by the Government, it is written that the decision on Montefarm's indebtedness is a proposal of the Ministry of Finance.
Medicine suppliers asked the Government to urgently pay them 17 million euros owed to them by the Health Care Fund, because otherwise they will be forced to stop supplying medicines to pharmacies. They warn that this would lead to an absolute shortage of medicines in Montenegro.
Those 17 million are due debt for the collection of a total of 24 million, which the Fund owes to wholesalers. These are accumulated liabilities for the previous three years.
The Association of Wholesalers informed Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, Žugić and Šegrt about this problem. They also asked for help from the president of the parliamentary committee for economy, Aleksandar Damjanović. This year's budget, however, defined that the Government should borrow up to 671 million (amendment of the DPS-SDP coalition), among other things, for the overdue obligations of the Health Fund of 36 million, which included debts to drugstores, which were then 15,8 million.
The Ministry of Finance previously informed drug wholesalers that they could not pay their debts because there is a "technical error" in the budget on the item for writing off the debts of the Health Fund, only one euro is written.
When asked by "Vijesti" how it is possible that there was a "technical error" and who is to blame, the Ministry of Finance said that those 36 million "were included in this year's budget through amendment action in the Parliament and that it should have been done in the same way to correct the items with the Fund, which the majority who voted for it did not do".
"Vijesti" is waiting for answers from the Ministry of Health, the Health Fund and Montefarm regarding the problem of payment of money for the purchase of medicines and the possible suspension of the delivery of medicines.
Without a precise answer about 36 million euros
The Ministry of Finance did not give a precise answer to the questions why the decision on borrowing for this year included the 36 million for the repayment of the Health Fund debt and whether the 36 million was stated in the prospectus when the bonds were issued.
"The Ministry of Finance borrowed 500 million, of which 398 million was for refinancing the public debt, and the rest was for covering the current deficit and the fiscal reserve," was the answer of the Ministry. "Vijesti" learned that 36 million was stated in the prospectus for the needs of the Fund.
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