Private interests before the public

After the parliamentary elections on August 30, the Government of Montenegro dismissed more than 46 officials, whose appointment is under its jurisdiction, mostly at personal request.

These are mainly the directors of the directorates of ministries, state secretaries, members of boards and councils... This can be seen from her publicly available decisions from the sessions in September, October and November.

On the list of those who left high positions, who are in the rank of assistant minister, are Vesna Miranović (Ministry of Health and member of the National Coordination Body for Infectious Diseases), Marijana Laković Drašković (Ministry of Justice), Arijana Nikolić Vučinić and Veljko Tomić (Ministry of Education). ... Also state secretaries and advisors Dragan Pejanović (MUP), Vladimir Radulović (MVP), secretary in the Ministry of Finance Nemanja Katnić, secretaries of the Ministry of Education Omer Mehmedović and the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs Adis Pepić.

In question are mainly party cadres of the Democratic Party of Socialists, the Social Democrats and the Bosniak Party, where there was generally no practice of withdrawing from government positions at personal request. After their mandate expired, the government re-appointed them to these or other positions, so the impression is that they are now leaving their leadership positions before the formation of a new government, where their parties will no longer have the majority support of the parliament, and thus neither the executive power.

The executive director of CEGAS, Boris Marić, believes that the resignations of decision-makers in the outgoing government, especially in the position of director of the directorate, are a warning.

"The largest number of leadership positions in the government were filled by political influence or decision. With this fact, it is not surprising that those who have reached management positions in this way look for an alternative engagement or job. We normatively created an official system which, due to aggressive party interests, grew into a mere form filling. That's why it's fairer to set a clear line and know which places are reached by political decision," he says.

When asked whether the departure of current staff and managers can also be a form of obstruction, Marić answers in the affirmative. "Leaving administrative bodies without management can produce some kind of disorientation of employees, slowing down or stopping work. As it seems to be a significant number of those who leave management positions by submitting their resignations, the risk for the functionality of the state administration increases. However, a good part of the work rests on truly professional officials, most often independent advisers who treat their reports responsibly, which gives the state administration system the ability to survive," Marić told "Vijesti".

Among those who resigned after the election is the long-time civil activist Aleksandar Zeković, who was secretary in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights for four months.

Among the 21 general directors of various directorates was Dragan Darmanović, the head of the Directorate of the State Treasury in the Ministry of Finance, as well as the wife of the vice president Milutin Simović - Ljiljana, who was dismissed from the position of director general of the Directorate for European Integration in the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare at her request.

On the list of those who received a decision on the termination of their mandate at their personal request is Nada Pavićević, general director of the Directorate for Valorization of Tourist Sites in MORT, Marko Radulović, general director of the Directorate for Energy and Energy Efficiency in the Ministry of Economy, as well as Ratka Strugar, general director of the Directorate for Electronic Communications. Both were assistants to the Minister of Economy, Dragica Sekulić.

More than 15 state secretaries have been dismissed. Some of them are Zoran Tomić (MORT), Nikola Vujović, (Ministry of Economy), Dragana Čenić (MORT), Goran Jovetić (Ministry of Public Administration)...

Among those leaving were several government advisors, including Vatroslav Belan, Dragoljub Janković, Ljiljana Radonjić, Alen Nikezić, Admir Adrović, Mirsada Nurković...

At the session on September 24, Vladimir Beratović, advisor to the prime minister, was relieved of his duties due to his transfer to a new position.

Nataša Pešić moves to Đukanović

The Secretary General of the Government, Nataša Pešić, should be transferred to the cabinet of the President of the State, Milo Đukanović, who is also her party boss in the DPS, as of next week, "Vijesti" has learned.

Pešić came to the government from the Ministry of Justice, while it was headed by the current Prime Minister Duško Marković. And there she was the secretary of the Ministry.

She did not respond to the call and message of "Vijesti" yesterday, and neither the president's office nor the government responded to her transition to a new position. Pešić should be a professional person, that is, she should continue with the work she has been performing until now.

The Government also ignored questions about the resignations and departure of the Prime Minister's advisers.