Many state enterprises in Montenegro have not been managed in an efficient and transparent manner for decades, announced Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović, adding that the influence of particular party interests and irrational employment practices are still present.
"When we add to that the often insufficient competence of the staff assigned by the party, then we get a significantly endangered potential of these companies to contribute to the economic development of our country and the provision of high-quality public services", said Milatović at the panel Corporate management in state-owned enterprises in Montenegro, which is organized within the format Conversation with the President.
He announced that corporate governance in state enterprises is a very important topic.
"Strengthening the integrity of state-owned companies and their independence is one of the priorities when it comes to public policies everywhere in the world, including in our region," said Milatović, opening the panel.
As he said, it is not necessary to talk about the importance of state enterprises in Montenegro.
"Suffice it to say that they manage assets whose value is equivalent to the country's annual gross domestic product, as well as that our country has the largest participation of state-owned enterprises in the economy in the region of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe," Milatović added.
According to him, for a long time, Montenegro has not taken into account, or only declaratively, the costs of public finances and the unwanted effects of poorly distributed funds due to abuses in state enterprises.
In this way, citizens' trust in public institutions is repeatedly and systematically undermined.
"All relevant research conducted by international organizations, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as numerous regional and domestic organizations and institutions, show that state-owned enterprises are particularly exposed to the risk of abuse and corruption," added Milatović.
He announced that state ownership is concentrated in high-risk sectors, such as the processing industry, energy and infrastructure, in which, through valuable concessions and large public procurement projects, the public and private sectors are intertwined.
"That's why in all reports, always and without exception, it is suggested that to effectively reduce the risk of abuse in state-owned enterprises, two things are necessary - responsible state ownership and good corporate governance," said Milatović.
He stated that we are witnessing that in our system we can speak either of the absence of corporate governance as known in developed economies, or of its poor copy.
"In order to move away from the old practices that we are still witnessing today, it is of key importance that we recognize the need for essential reforms in the management of state-owned enterprises, in order to ensure their efficiency and sustainability," Milatović said.
He believes that today's panel is one of the steps towards this goal.
"I am pleased that we will have the opportunity to hear, I am sure, a professional and interesting discussion of respectable experts who follow this field from different angles - academic, non-governmental and private sector", said Milatović and added that he plans to, in the following period , myself to contribute to this important topic.
That is why the institution of the President of Montenegro will refer the Initiative on good governance in state-owned enterprises to all relevant elements of the system whose competence is the improvement and control of the work of state-owned enterprises, including members of the Assembly.
"I am of the opinion that in this, as in many other areas, our society needs radical reform. That process can start today, with the removal of existing bad practices, as well as the responsibility of decision makers and the transparency of the process. Because that's the only way to truly move forward towards strengthening our economy and society as a whole," concluded Milatović.
Bonus video:
