Rovčanin: The coal mine under the management of the DPS went from an engine of the economy to a millionaire loser

Member of Democratic Montenegro Nikola Rovčanin announced today that it is the second year since then Prime Minister Milo Đukanović officially started the construction of the second block of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant.

Today, Democratic Montenegro held a press conference where the Democratic councilors in the Pljevlja Municipal Council, Nikola Rovčanin and Bojan Krvavac, pointed out how the irresponsible behavior of the Government and DPS authorities regarding the Pljevlja Coal Mine and Thermal Power Plant was announced.

"Since that day, not even the foundation stone has been laid, and Elektroprivreda has channeled the money into new business ventures. The situation on the stock market was monitored with great attention and it waited for the moment when the remaining shares of the Coal Mine, which are not owned by the state, reach their maximum, so it was carried out with lightning speed purchase and sale for a price of as much as 33 million, although that same package of shares was worth three times less a little more than a year ago. Strange business logic, but in Montenegro it is an established practice that the public interest always loses the game in a duel with the private, especially if they are in big players from the top of the government," said Rovčanin.

He pointed out that in Montenegro, the value of shares obviously depends on who owns them, because how to explain the rapid growth of Rudnik's shares immediately before the moment of purchase and sale, if we take into account the company's debts and multimillion-dollar losses.

"The Pljevlja coal mine, under the management of the DPS authorities, has gone from the engine of the Montenegrin economy to a millionaire loser," said Rovčanin.

He wondered whether the citizens would finally feel the benefits of the million-dollar business of Elektroprivreda or whether they would continue to pay for the most expensive electricity in the region.

"If the Government's decisions in this field are good, how is it that citizens of Montenegro pay more expensive electricity than, say, Luxembourg, if the standard of citizens is taken as a parameter?" said Rovčanin.

He also referred to the reported irresponsible behavior of Elektroprivreda and the Government of Montenegro when it comes to environmental protection, especially in Pljevlja.

"This calls into question the dynamics of the implementation of the obligations defined by Chapter 27, when it will be opened at the end of the year. Without any doubt, the profiteering interests of the big players in the government will slow down and even stop Montenegro on its way to full membership in the EU. It is obvious that money is more important than the lives of the citizens of Pljevlja, which have been left to enormous pollution for decades. Because how is it that there is money for millions of transactions, but there is no money for the environmental tax in accordance with the Law on the Environment?" said Rovčanin.

Krvavac said that one of the most obvious financial machinations of representatives of the ruling elite is the recent show better known as the merger of Rudnik and Termoelectrana, or EPCG.

"Simply put, when Rudnik uljja shares are sold to the state by individuals close to the government, their price exceeds the real price, and when the state sells the same, then it is sold at negligible prices. While the representatives of the ruling clique greedily collect millions in front of all of us, while the inefficient Montenegrin administration is not even able to open Chapter 27 until December of this year, while eurosceptic statements are sent from the level of the current president of the state, and the pockets are filled with money from all of us, until then the people of Pljevlja are suffocating in the interests of EPCG, displaced due to the lack of jobs caused by the shutdown of industrial giants and they die because of environmental pollution," explained Krvavac.

In the end, he emphasized that if this attitude does not change towards the city, which should represent the industrial engine of the entire country's development, he is afraid that in a few years there will be no one to help in Pljevlja.