The government has not paid the Red Cross (RC) money from part of the revenue from games of chance for years, even though it is obligated to do so by the Red Cross Law, which has been in effect since 2006, the humanitarian institution told "Vijesti".
Therefore, at the end of last year, during a public debate on the proposal for a new law on games of chance, the Central Committee requested that these obligations be explicitly stated, but the Ministry of Finance, in a report from the public debate published on January 13, refused, stating that this was a "complex issue" and that the possible distribution of money would be analyzed next year.
The current Law on the Central Committee states that money for special programs of this humanitarian institution is also provided from "income from games of chance in accordance with criteria established by the Government." The criteria existed until 2011, when they were changed, so that only programs of non-governmental organizations can apply for the money, and since 2017, the entire amount of money goes only to the budget, without any divisions.
In the draft Fiscal Strategy, the Ministry of Finance stated that it is enacting a new law on games of chance, which, among other things, increases fees for organizers by about 50 percent, in order to compensate for part of the budget revenue lost due to the reduction in contributions for pension and disability insurance.
The Law on the Central Bank states that this money would be used to finance a special program of assistance to vulnerable categories of the population, assistance in the event of natural disasters, prevention and training of the population against natural disasters...
The Ministry of Finance has copied certain norms in the field of games of chance from neighboring countries, but not that the income is shared for socially responsible and humanitarian projects. The Red Crosses of neighboring countries usually receive five percent of the income from games of chance. Last year, they amounted to 33,8 million euros, so the Red Cross would receive 1,69 million euros of that amount for special programs for vulnerable residents.
The state budget proposal for this year envisages 400 thousand euros for the Central Bank program, as an institution of public importance, or not even a quarter of what it would receive from revenue from games of chance alone.
"The Law on the Central Election Commission establishes that, for the implementation of public interest activities and special programs, the Central Election Commission, among other things, is financed from revenues from games of chance in accordance with the criteria established by the Government. For all the years of the existence of the Law on the Central Election Commission, we have managed to achieve the right to the compensation established by law in a negligible amount. Subsequent amendments to the Law on Games of Chance completely abolished the right to the aforementioned compensation for the Central Election Commission. We can say that in the true sense, the legal provision has never come into effect. We believe that it is necessary for the new Law on Games of Chance to re-establish the right for our organization to generate revenues from games of chance, in order to more efficiently implement the programs on the basis of which we exercise this right, and also for the benefit of all socially vulnerable categories who are our beneficiaries," the Central Election Commission told "Vijesti".
They state that CK organizations in the region receive this income and that the aforementioned practice should be applied here as well.
"In Croatia, which is a member of the EU, the Red Cross generates income from games of chance, i.e. prize games, in a way that each of the prize game organizers pays a fee to the Red Cross in the amount of five percent of the base amount, which is the determined value of the prize game fund."
In their objection to the Ministry of Finance, they pointed out the need for the new Law on Games of Chance to regulate the amount and method of realizing revenues from games of chance, to which the Central Bank is entitled, in accordance with the Law on the Central Bank.
"Unfortunately, in the report from the public debate on the draft Law on Games of Chance, it was announced that our suggestion was not accepted, with the explanation that the Ministry of Finance had considered several models for the distribution of these funds and that at this moment it is not subject to standardization, but that a detailed analysis of the needs of individual activities, organizations and groups will be conducted next year, after which they will have more precise information on the amount of funds to be distributed, and that a fair distribution of funds will then be defined," said the CK.
The Law on Central Banks has been in effect since 2006, but the Law on Games of Chance from 2004 also stated how this money is distributed.
"Article 15 stated that funds from games of chance are used to finance plans and programs of organizations engaged in social protection and humanitarian activities - for which the Central Committee is recognized; organizations that deal with problems and meet the needs of persons with disabilities - for which the Central Committee organizations have been actively working for years; organizations that contribute to the development of sports, engage in culture and technical culture - for which the Central Committee has worked with certain marginalized target groups; organizations that deal with non-institutional education and upbringing of children and youth - for which the Central Committee is also recognized, in working with vulnerable categories of the population who are not permanently resident in Montenegro, with members of socially vulnerable categories whose permanent residence is in Montenegro, but also with members of the general population. All the aforementioned provisions of the Law from Article 15 clearly define that the Central Committee is the organization to which the aforementioned funds should belong in order to achieve the ultimate, socially beneficial goal, which is to provide assistance to persons who need assistance in many ways," the Central Committee stated.
However, the Regulation on the criteria for determining beneficiaries and the method of distributing part of the revenue from games of chance, published in the Official Gazette in 2011, states in Article 2: “Part of the revenue from games of chance shall finance the plans and programs of organizations in accordance with Article 12, paragraph 2 of the Law on Games of Chance. At least 75% of the revenue from paragraph 1 of this Article shall be distributed for the plans and programs of non-governmental organizations, in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 3 of the Law on Games of Chance. Organizations from paragraph 2 of this Article must be registered in accordance with the law regulating the establishment and operation of non-governmental organizations.”
According to that Regulation, the Central Committee, as a civil society organization that performs tasks of public interest and other special programs entrusted to it by the Central Committee Act, is automatically excluded as an organization that can apply for funds from games of chance due to its status, according to the Central Committee.
"Following the aforementioned Regulation, in 2017, an amendment to the Law on Games of Chance was adopted, which defined that the provisions of Article 15, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of the Law and the aforementioned Regulation shall cease to be valid on 31 December 2017. Based on the aforementioned, the Red Cross has not been able to exercise its right to a portion of the revenues from games of chance for almost 10 years for programs whose implementation would contribute to the development of services in accordance with special programs arising from the principles of the mission of the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement."
The law also prescribes what the money is used for.
The current Law on the Central Bank also states what this organization would use the money it should receive from the proceeds from games of chance. These are projects for the development of solidarity among people and the organization of forms of international aid to citizens; preparation for action in natural disasters and states of emergency; providing assistance to those at risk in the event of natural disasters and states of emergency; collecting humanitarian aid, receiving and distributing it to beneficiaries; assistance to the elderly and the infirm; actions and education of the population with the aim of protecting and improving the state of the environment; training volunteers for work; international cooperation...
They hope that the suggestions will be taken into account.
When asked how they see this problem being resolved, the Central Committee told "Vijesti" that it is necessary for the Ministry to take their suggestions into account and include them in the law on games of chance.
The Government has adopted this proposal, but it has not yet been discussed by the Parliament.
"In order to provide the citizens, first of all, with the necessary support we actively provide, and then to adequately provide all vulnerable categories of the population with the necessary support, we believe that it is necessary to take into account the comments/suggestions we sent to the competent Ministry and include them as part of the Law on Games of Chance. Considering the status of our organization, which is also defined in the Law on the Red Cross, it would be very important for the provision of the Law on Games of Chance to apply to civil society organizations, to which the Red Cross also belongs. We remind you that the Red Cross represents a unique, independent, humanitarian organization operating on the territory of Montenegro, as the only recognized national Red Cross society, and which actively and with pleasure cooperates with both the non-governmental and state sectors, all for the benefit of our citizens. Our goal is to be a reliable service to citizens with quality services and high knowledge, and a reliable partner to institutions and organizations," the Red Cross stated.
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