Barska URA: The public must know who, when and on whose behalf is offering public resources

Councilors who make up the ruling majority in the Bar Municipal Assembly (DPS, SD, SDP, Liberal Party) rejected at today's session the proposal of URA Civic Movement councilor Ferida Peročević to add the agenda item: "Information on projects offered to an investor from the UAE - review of the jurisdiction, powers and interests of the Bar Municipality," the Bar URA announced.

"According to information available to the public, the Mayor of Bar Municipality Dušan Raičević (DPS), without prior consent of the Bar Municipal Assembly, previously met with an investor from the United Arab Emirates and presented him with certain potential projects in the Municipality of Bar," the statement reads.

The Bar URA says that this is why they wanted the issue to be raised in the local parliament, because the citizens of Bar "have the right to hear the truth". "Let's hear whether Raičević, as the mayor of the municipality, as a representative of the executive branch, had the legal authority to independently present the strategic resources of the municipality of Bar without prior consent from the Assembly."

They say that by rejecting this initiative, the government councilors directly prevented "a legal and transparent verification of whether there was an excess of jurisdiction and a possible violation of the law."

They thanked their colleagues from the opposition benches who, "unlike the ruling structure, have shown that they understand the basic principles of the rule of law."

"The executive branch, no matter who did it, cannot independently make decisions that encroach on strategic resources or public property without the prior consent of the legislative body, in this case the Bar Municipal Assembly. The URA civic movement will continue to insist on establishing responsibility and protecting the public interest. We will not stop at this attempt, but will raise questions through other institutions and legally prescribed mechanisms as to whether the law has been violated and whether the competence of the mayor has been exceeded," the Bar board of the URA Civic Movement said.

They said they remain of the view that the public "must know who, when and on whose behalf is offering public resources," especially when it comes to "potential projects that encroach on state and municipal property." "Democratic and responsible management of local self-government does not imply arbitrariness, but rather the participation and consent of all elected representatives of citizens," the statement reads.