The Defense Club of Democrats in SO Koor sent an open letter to the Ministry of Finance and the institution of the Protector of Legal Interests of Montenegro, as well as other councilors in the local parliament, regarding the proposed decision on concluding a settlement in the litigation between the Municipality of Kotor and the Kotor construction company "Briv Construction".
Mayor Željko Aprcović (DPS) was the candidate for the proposal of a decision on concluding a settlement in that dispute for the upcoming session of the local parliament. He proposes that, despite the fact that the Municipality of Kotor has twice won a first-instance interim judgment of the Commercial Court in that litigation, a settlement should be concluded in such a way that "Briv Construction" waives its appeal to the Court of Appeal on the lost dispute, and that in return, the Municipality enters into a contract with that company. about the construction of an underpass under the highway in front of the Old Town in Kotor.
That construction company, which previously operated under the name "Yu Briv", was the most favorable bidder in the tender that was announced by the DPS authority in Kotor of the former mayor Aleksandar Stjepčević for the selection of contractors for the construction of the underpass, but the Directorate for Arrangement and Construction of Kotor in June In 2017, when a coalition of opposition parties led by the Democrats took over, this public procurement procedure was suspended. This was done because in the budget of the Municipality for 2017, nor in the work program of the Direlcija for the arrangement and construction of Kotor for that year, no funds were planned for the construction of the underpass, so the contract with "Yu Briv" was never concluded, nor was the construction company as it was then was foreseen by the procedure, complained about the Directorate's decision to cancel the tender before the contract was concluded with them as the most favorable bidder.
"Adopting such a decision would violate several laws and potentially cause damage to the budget of the municipality of Kotor of over 1,5 million euros. As we do not participate in the work of such a council due to political corruption, the violation of the electoral will of the citizens of Kotor and the illegal takeover of power in the municipality of Kotor, we hereby point out to all councilors the illegality of this decision, and call on the competent state authorities to urgently take measures within their jurisdiction, as all together would not be eyewitnesses and accomplices of a new million-dollar affair in Montenegro, to the detriment of the budget and property of all citizens. Although the events in Kotor in the past almost a year have often made headlines, believe it or not, this case goes beyond the local level. We are sure that it is almost impossible to find a case in which the defendant (Municipality of Kotor) succeeds both in the Commercial Court and in the Appellate Court to prove that the plaintiff (YU Briv) is wrong in his claims, and then in the re-appeal procedure before the Appellate Court , he admits everything he was sued for and even more than that."—states in the open letter of the Democrats' councilor club.
From that party, they claim that the contract with "Briv" cannot be concluded based on the annulled tender from 2016-17, announced and conducted on the basis of the then valid Law on Spatial Development and Construction of Buildings. In the meantime, the new Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Buildings entered into force, with which the old master project of the underpass and its revision, carried out by ˝Europrojekt˝ doo Podgorica and the "Designing and Planning Agency" of the Nikšić Municipality, were not harmonized.
"The decision on the construction permit for the construction of the underpass was issued on 29.12.2016 December 2019. and was valid until 2016. As the building permit has expired, and the new law does not recognize the institution of the building permit, it is clear that its validity could not be extended on any basis, so that it cannot be acted on." on the part of Mayor Aprcović, the opinion of the Directorate for Public Procurement Policy on this case was obtained, because it was given on the basis of the currently valid, and not the Law on Public Procurement, which was valid at the time of the implementation and cancellation of the tender for the contractor in 17/XNUMX.
"From all of the above, it unequivocally follows that the adoption of the proposed Decision and the conclusion of the Agreement on the construction of the underpass with "YU - Briv" DOO, based on the previously implemented and suspended public procurement procedure, would be illegal in all respects, and would constitute a basis for lawsuits against the municipality by third parties persons and caused direct damage of millions to the municipal budget. A contract concluded in this way would be void in all respects and open the possibility of protracted court disputes. It is the indisputable right of the local self-government to decide on the construction of any facility, but in accordance with positive legal regulations, in no way in a way that is illegal and that favors one business entity." - stated in the open letter of the Democratic councilor in Kotor Municipality to the Ministry of Finance and the Protector property and legal interests of Montenegro. They requested that Aprcović and the councilors of the current DPS-SD-HGI-LP majority in the SO Kotor withdraw the proposed settlement decision, and the competent state authorities to "immediately take measures within their competence and prevent the occurrence of millions of damages the budget of the municipality of Kotor."
"Any other action will represent complicity in breaking the law and potentially committing more economic and criminal offenses."—concludes in the open letter.
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