The "plantations" were destroyed, they owe over 45 million euros, the directors distributed millions to themselves

The company "Plantaže" owes 45 million euros and is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the reason for this state of affairs is irrational business in the past years, as well as spending huge amounts of money on disputed fees and other privileges that the management granted to itself.

These are, among other things, the conclusions of an external expert who was based on the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Agriculture, Aleksandar Stijović, in order to establish the real situation in "Plantaže" and the models according to which this state-owned company could be saved from the situation in which it was "brought by systematic destruction in the previous period".

14 bosses for three workers

It was revealed that the company paid out six million euros in cash each year through the treasury for various fees, "limits" and other disputed payments, that every third employee in the company was designated as a manager with huge earnings, that there are sectors in which he "works "14 bosses and only three workers, that some managers spent two-thirds of their working time on business trips abroad with huge payments for daily wages, that they received the same benefits several times on the same basis,...

"After a month of analysis of the state and operations in 'Plantaže' and a detailed analysis of the documentation collected so far, data were obtained that clearly indicate that Plantaže were brought almost to the brink of bankruptcy," the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management announced.

Rescue of the company, with the interruption of the current practice

Minister Stijović's department stated that "Plantaže" must be preserved as the most important national brand, but they insist that in parallel with the process of rescuing the company and support, serious cuts must be made to such practices, which are still ongoing, and led to the destruction of the company .

Stijović stated that there are intensive negotiations on models of assistance to "Plantaža", as well as intensive discussions with creditors, but that he does not want to "pour into a bottomless bag", but to look for a sustainable model that will recover the company in the long term, which it also implies the restructuring of the company.

The analysis showed, as stated, the actual state and level of looting of "Plantaž" over a long period of time, which is why the company's debts on February 28 to suppliers, banks and workers are 45.652.472 euros.

This sum does not include the amounts of sponsorships and donations, consulting contracts and legally disputed payments to the board of directors and management, as well as the costs of writing off housing loans for employees upon retirement, which amount to 1.362.943 euros.

Bosses are paid from 1.500 to 10.000, then a few thousand more through the cashier

The average net salary in the company in 2018 was 720,38 euros, and in 2019 it was 782,10 euros, while at the same time the management and members of the board of directors received salaries on several bases in amounts from 1.500 euros to 10.000 euros. .

"In addition to the basic salary, there is a 'corporate management fee' in the company, which is not recognized by positive regulations, and which exceeds all amounts of the basic salary and for which there is no defined method of calculation. In addition, past work is calculated as part of the basic salary, while compensation for past work is paid separately, without a defined procedure. In addition to this, payments are also made based on so-called 'limits' for which there is also no procedure and their amount also exceeds the basic salary many times over, and annual vacations are also paid separately. All the mentioned amounts are paid in cash through the cash register. For the sake of illustration, in 2019, cash was paid through the cash register in the amount of 5.982.099 euros, which was the average in previous years as well," the analysis stated, among other things.

Every third employee is a director or boss

The company currently has 587 full-time employees, one third of whom belong to the management staff, and in addition to this number, it employs around 80 seasonal workers.

"That it is an excessive number of employees is clearly seen from the act on systematization, where, for example, the chief warehouseman, the assistant chief warehouseman and the assistant chief warehouseman are defined, and we have such a situation in several work units. We also have cases where, for example, the work unit viticulture- fruit production has a sector of common functions where there are 14 directors/bosses and three workers and similar examples. As a result of such employment we have costs for the salaries of employees in the Plantations of about 15 million euros per year. It is illogical that in a company where the primary production is agriculture, a third employees are made up of directors and management staff, especially taking into account their right to official vehicles, of which there are 70, as well as to drivers," the Ministry stated.

Directors are more often on trips than at work

Based on the data shown in the travel order cards, it was discovered that about 20 employees, members of the Board of Directors, the director and directors of the sector, spent more than two-thirds of the working days per year on official trips abroad or that daily allowances for official trips were paid in multiples. larger amounts than prescribed.

Thus, as stated, Milan Milutinović was paid the amount of 2010 euros for official trips from 2020 to 108.997, Verica Maraš the amount of 93.397 euros, Veselin Đurišić 83.070 euros,...

The president of the board of directors, Veselin Vukotić, was paid a total of 79.500 euros, and in the period from 2016 to 2019, the same amount was paid for trips of 8.500 euros each.

Millions of dollars to lawyers for lost cases

One of the more significant costs of the company, as stated in the analysis, was represented by the amounts paid out on behalf of consulting services, on the basis of which EUR 10 was paid in the last 1.121.051,12 years.

"This amount was paid mainly to law firms for representation in disputes, all of which were lost, and which cost "Planaže" an additional 1.947.056,22 euros in court costs," the Ministry announced.

Non-repayable housing loans

Housing loans were mostly granted non-refundable, that is, by the Decision on granting loans to solve housing needs, and almost the entire management staff received them in amounts from 30.000 to 299.000 euros.

"The maximum amount of the loan was granted to Verica Maraš on May 12.05.2010, 12.08.2008, who was previously granted a loan in an unknown amount on August 20.10.2009, 30.000, and on the basis of which the first part in the amount of XNUMX euros was paid on October XNUMX, XNUMX." , according to the Ministry.

Sponsorship for festivals that did not exist

An amount of two and a half million euros was paid for various sponsorships in the period from 2009 to 2021, of which more payments are also legally disputed.

"One of the disputed sponsorships is a donation that is awarded every year in different amounts, from 2.500 to 10.000 euros, to the non-governmental organization "Sibila", which was paid a total of 38.000 euros. A search of the website of the mentioned NGO revealed that it was founded with the aim of organizing the festival, but that she never had any activities, so they were allocated funds to hold a festival every year, none of which was held," the Ministry announced.

As announced, Minister Stijović will announce the details and conclusions of the analysis, a detailed overview of the company's situation and a proposed solution for trying to save "Plantaž" at a press conference next week.