After auditing the business and financial reports of "Solar Gradnja", the State Audit Institution (DRI) gave the company a double negative opinion and then submitted that opinion to the Higher State Prosecutor's Office.
The management of the Electric Power Company (EPCG) and "Solar Gradnje" believe that the DRI did not provide an independent opinion, that politics was involved in the entire process and that almost all complaints have been removed to date, so they expect the resignation of the Member of the Senate and Collegium of the DRI Milan Dabović due to unfair relations.
This was heard at a control hearing on this topic, which is being held before the parliamentary Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget. The topic was the audit findings from the audit report on the annual financial report of "Solar Gradnje" for last year.
The Chairwoman of the Senate of the State Audit Office, Vesna Mihailović, stated that the regularity audit determined that "Solar Gradnja" did not harmonize its operations with laws and other regulations, which is why a negative opinion and 21 recommendations were given, while the report was adopted at the end of June.
"In accordance with the protocol on cooperation it has with the State Prosecutor's Office, the DRI submitted this report to the prosecutor's office on July 7," Mihailović pointed out.
Member of the DRI Collegium Milan Dabović emphasized that "Solar Gradnja" has complied with all recommendations and that they have already started to implement some of them. The recommendations, he said, relate to the company's profit and expenses, while the regularity audits are related to internal controls, the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector and public procurement.
"There was perhaps one recommendation that was discussed, but the Collegium confirmed the auditor's position," said Dabović.
"Decision pretentious, we expect resignation"
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Electric Power Company (EPCG) Milutin Đukanović stated that there were already illogicalities in the presentation of the SAI, that only one financial recommendation was cited, but not the other, although it was an accounting error that has been corrected. He explained that the deferred tax was not adequately booked.
"The second one relates to provisions, based on severance pay and anniversary awards. A company that has been in existence for three years did not think about severance pay and anniversary awards, it is so trivial and easy to correct and the entities have already been engaged. Because of this, a negative opinion was received for the financial report...", stated Đukanović.
He claims that there are a large number of companies that have committed serious violations and have not received a negative opinion, and that the decision is pretentious and a scandal. He claims that "Solar Gradnja" is being disqualified due to politics, even though it has improved its energy capacities.
Đukanović emphasized that he used artificial intelligence, and that it assessed that the SAI could have given a qualified opinion and that the negative opinion was inadequate and unfounded.
"This results in bias and unfair treatment of the people who gave such an opinion. One has retired (Zoran Jelić) and we expect the other, for the sake of minimal fairness and these arguments - to resign immediately today and relax us (Milan Dabović)...", said Đukanović.
"No qualified opinion"
Dabović stated that a financial recommendation can be of sufficient importance to issue a negative opinion. He emphasized that a negative opinion was also given for regularities, which "Solar Gradnja" itself agreed with. Dabović also stated that artificial intelligence makes mistakes, including not recognizing a qualified opinion.
"I am surprised by your personal attitude towards me. This has never happened before," he said.
Đukanović stated that he and Dabović had discussions while they were MPs, and that Dabović did not appear at a later meeting at the DRI premises because he was allegedly offended by what was said.
The President of the Board of Directors of "Solar Gradnja" Marina Jočić stated that the company has created an energy revolution in Montenegro and that it will do even more when the battery plants are installed. She pointed out that the financial statement referred to the missing money for retirement or jubilee awards, while they did not spend anything on the national team. She claims that it was pointed out that they do not even have a regulation for official phones, because they do not have any at all.
"One item that has most upset the public is that 350 people were hired in one month, applying the Law on Civil Servants instead of the Law on Business Companies. We have 507 employees, the optimal number, and the average salary is 930 euros. Thanks to "Solar", electricity prices have not increased since 2020 because we have put new power plants into operation," she said.
Eliminated almost all defects
Jočić stated that in the audit, the SAI also used laws that do not apply to this company and that they have removed all deficiencies according to the action plan, and that they still have the regulation on conducting the inventory - for which they have a deadline of November 31. Therefore, she believes that the principle of independence and objectivity, as well as professional skepticism, has been violated...
"I experienced the signature on this report as a political pamphlet. It was signed by a man whose moral vertical is the previous regime - one employee, four votes. I believe it is politically incorrect and does not correspond to the state of affairs. I think there are no illegal actions and the Higher State Prosecutor's Office will deal with that," Jočić said.
She pointed out that the loss of five million was incurred while the tenders for the panels were being cancelled, so the workers could not work. Acting CEO of "Solar Gradnja" Sanja Žugić stated that several recommendations contained misinterpretations of the law, and that they were not stalling and were improving their business.
MP Mihailo Anđušić of the Democratic Party of Socialists stated that there were no corrupt practices by "Solar Gradnja", but that the company was being run like a market stall. He added that the project implemented by this company had failed and that the company was an example of nepotism and pratitocracy. This group of MPs stated that negative opinions were coming for several companies in this sector and that these things needed to be changed, especially since "0Solar" was losing five million euros.
They pointed out that previously the "Solara" salary fund had to be reduced by ten percent, which did not happen, but was increased, thus damaging the budget.
New Serbian Democracy MP Dejan Đurović stated that the DRI previously took senators if they were active in the party and collected votes, if they were someone's godfathers and relatives, and that he hoped that this would not happen again. He asked Đukanović to continue on the same path and not increase the price of electricity, and asked him what the difference is that the state pays for energy from mini hydroelectric power plants - to the selling price.
"You know that in Montenegro there are some who are not under your control, and that is the Central Bank, and when that was passed, who was at the head of the Central Bank, who was the Minister of Finance and who became the Governor after that? You had a long time to control various companies and sometimes you gave a double negative opinion, but you know yourself that you were obliged by the party," Đurović told representatives of the State Audit Office.
He added that EPCG deserved to be audited by the State Audit Office before 2020, especially since there had been no investment in it for 40 years. The Democrats stated that the State Audit Office audit was not a verdict and that the errors in the findings were remediable.
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