Miloš Rajković is the man who should and must be at the head of the Directorate for Forest and Hunting Management, the Trade Union of employees in that Directorate announced.
The press release, as well as the letter to the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Vladimir Joković, signed by the president of the union Danko Milikić, states that they have had enough of experiments and that all employees in the Administration agree that they want to continue the work they have been doing for the past year, because they are convinced that it will yield good results.
"The trade union organization of the Forest and Hunting Management Administration reminded in a written statement that for more than two years, employees have been trying to explain with arguments what the shortcomings of the new Forest Law are and what the consequences of its adoption will be. This is best seen at the current moment when those who advocated for its adoption do not know what to do and how to proceed. In this ignorance, the only argument now is that they cannot implement it because the Forest and Hunting Management Administration is hindering them in doing so. If it were not ridiculous, it would be sad," the statement states.
It is added that all employees still hold the same position, because they are guided solely by their profession.
"Furthermore, the Trade Union of Employees in the Forest and Hunting Management Administration specifically emphasizes that Miloš Rajković is a man who, since his arrival at the head of the Administration, has found the strength to listen to and understand the arguments of the profession. The arguments for this are that according to the current legal norms, only forestry engineers can perform the assignment and preparation of executive projects, and that none of the permanently employed forestry engineers wants to transfer to a newly formed company, due to the unclear concept and incorrectly completed Economic Analysis and Feasibility Study of that company, and therefore it is not clear who could perform the assignment if it were to transfer to the jurisdiction of that company," the statement reads.
The main objection to the concession system was, it is recalled, the fact that the trees were allocated to a known buyer, which created room for corruption and abuse. The union claims that the idea of the allocation being part of a future company that will primarily deal with forest exploitation is wrong for several reasons, which they listed.
"One of the reasons is the placing of profit above protection, a business company is established with a primary mission to make a profit, which can lead to decisions that favor short-term economic benefits over the long-term sustainability of forest resources. There is also a lack of neutrality, the existence of a conflict of interest when the same company that exploits forests makes decisions about which trees will be cut without a rational explanation and in accordance with the forestry profession. Forest management, as one of the most professional jobs in forestry, which involves the sublimation and practical application of forestry science, should always be within the framework of the state administration. What should be emphasized is that all forestry engineers, regardless of what function they perform within the administration, are essentially forestry engineers who can be engaged in forest management work if necessary. For these reasons, any thought that forest management should be within some future company whose primary task is profit is wrong and will yield the same result as in the concession system," the statement says.
It is emphasized that the fact that Miloš Rajković understood and tried to put the benefit of the state above personal appearance has completely misjudged those who decide on the fate of the entire forestry sector, the Administration and its employees in assessing whether he is the man who should continue to lead the Administration. It is also claimed that Rajković has recently been exposed to malicious pressure and sabotage.
"We have had five Directors change in the last five years. We cannot shake the impression that experiments are being conducted on us, but we also wonder why? When we finally embarked on a joint fight against illegal actions, when we began to point out that the right solutions that can bring long-term benefits in this area, someone's spite and vanity won," the statement reads.
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