Although, through no fault of my own, I do not have a work permit, I will not return any guests from the swimming pool - the gates are wide open, I believe with all my colleagues, says the tenant of Kopakabana on Ulcinj's Velika beach Prelja Škrelja.
He is just one of the numerous tenants of the swimming pool, not only in Ulcinj but in the whole of Montenegro, who are struggling to welcome the first tourists, due to untimely and unsynchronized activities and decisions of the JP for the management of marine assets and the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property.
"The damage has already been done, we at Copacabana traditionally had a program for May 1st. Of course, it's too late now, none of us have a work permit yet, because first we need to sign the annex to the contract," Škrelja told "Vijesta".
As "Vijesti" previously announced, JP was late with the organization of the tender for the leasing of beaches for the upcoming summer tourist season, allegedly due to the failure of the Government, that is, the ministry. Department of the Minister Janko Odović should have given consent to the Maritime Property on the proposal of the Decision on the leasing and use of parts of the marine property (submitted to the Ministry on February 7) and on the Price List of initial fees for the use and lease of the marine property (submitted on February 20). The company was waiting for the approval of the Altas of Montenegrin swimming pools and the Plan for the use of money for this year. Without consent to those acts, the Maritime Administration could not announce a tender for beach leases.
Now former president of the Board of Directors of JP Blazo Radjenovic he said then that there had already been a big delay in organizing the tenders for this summer tourist season, which is why he proposed extending the existing contracts as a less bad solution.
"At this moment, the only rational and useful solution, which could be done without questioning the readiness of the beaches and temporary facilities in the marine property zone, is to annex the contracts of the former users, and postpone the tenders until October or November of this year" , said Radjenovic.
With the new regulation on the rental of beaches, Morsko dobro planned to bring the advantage of former users in the new tender procedure within the limits of reality and open the possibility for new tenants to get the bathing areas.
The new price list for renting beaches should bring new revenues to the state-owned company, because higher rental prices are planned.
Škrelja assessed that JP and the relevant ministry have called the entire season into question because most of the swimming pools are not yet fully ready.
"Everything is uncertain, from this season to new tenders. We have two problems - how and on what basis are they going to do their scoring, so that the old tenants are not damaged, but also the Atlas swimming pool, which affects us in Ulcinj the most, because they want to tear up our beaches and bring in new tenants", he said. Škrelja, who is the president of the Association of Tenants of Ulcinj Baths.
He also pointed out the problem with possible new tenants.
"How do they intend to introduce them to our infrastructure? We have been working for years to provide water, electricity, access roads, necessary facilities... I think that the JP did not assess the situation properly. If they had, they would have known that it could lead to big problems, even to complete chaos".
The tenants, he says, have invested a lot of effort and money to raise the level of services at the swimming pools in order to be competitive.
"You see, Kosovo is not the only emission market for us now. At Copacabana, as well as at all other swimming pools, you can hear various languages today. People come to us from our country, from Kosovo, from Serbia, Albania, BiH, North Macedonia, but also from all over Europe and America. It is our wealth and we are really proud of it".
He adds that most of the tenants at Velika plaža are owners of private properties in the hinterland.
"These are all private properties. We know that our ancestors did not leave us the sea and beaches because everywhere in the world, it is state property. However, I must point out that this property in the hinterland is the property of the people of Ulcinj, but also that it is under the burden of JP. In the title deed, it is clearly written that my property is 1/1, but there is a note that it is encumbered by JP. It's like that for everyone, even up to two or more kilometers from the coast".
He believes that the local government did not know what it was losing and what problems the locals would have when establishing the JP.
About 57 percent of the total territory, or 3.318 hectares under the authority of JP, is located in Ulcinj. In the municipality of Herceg Novi, that territory is 492 hectares, in Tivat 746, in Kotor 216, in Budva 221, and in the municipality of Bar 797 hectares.
Albania is the biggest competitor
Škrelja pointed out the problem with the lack of quality workforce.
"Until now, we managed somehow because we had missing personnel from Kosovo. Now Kosovo has received visa liberalization and most of those quality workers have found work in the West".
He stated that it is too early to talk about any record-breaking season.
"Everyone is talking about some records again. And so every year. These are flat estimates, it's easy to talk from the armchair. We in Montenegro have about 300 hotels in total, and Albania has over a thousand. In addition, the neighbor has a better road infrastructure, developed shipping traffic, an airport with over 100 flights a day... So we have to take better care of tourism, because Albania is now our biggest, if not the biggest, competition because the Croats are a bit more expensive."
Škrelja appealed to the other tenants to be careful when setting prices.
"With the annex, which we will conclude, the rental prices will remain the same. I know that we had an inflationary shock and that everything became more expensive, especially labor. Despite this, I appeal to have correct prices, because we will be waiting for guests next year as well".
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