Goran Đurović, the holder of the "Can Bar, can Montenegro" list consisting of URA, CIVIS and Albanian Alternative in Bar, announced that he will advocate for the unification of the Port of Bar and bringing in a strategic operator in order to change the economic picture of the municipality and increase employment.
"We believe that the local government remained silent on the crisis, on cooperation with the Government and did almost nothing to ease citizens' problems," he said in an interview.
What problems in your city require the most urgent solution, and how, if you exercise power or participate in it, do you think they can be overcome?
After decades of non-domestic rule of the DPS in Bar, numerous economic, infrastructural, social and cultural problems were left unresolved. They are reflected in a non-visionary policy and spontaneous and insufficient investments that did not leave any significant result. In the last 26 years of continuous DPS rule, Bar did not take advantage of dozens of huge chances and advantages, but stagnated in its development. The authorities in Bar all these years did not have the energy, knowledge and will to fight more actively for their city, which was taken advantage of by other coastal cities that overtook Bar in terms of economic development and tourist offer.
The biggest problems in our city are the lack of quality tourist facilities (4- and 5-star hotels), poor or insufficiently maintained infrastructure, with special emphasis on the road through Mrkojeviće, the reconstruction of which has been promised for the last 20 years, the neglected and almost forgotten road route through Sutorman, which is for At least the best alternative to Podgorica during the summer tourist season.
To this day, the citizens of Mrkojević (Veliki pijesak, Utjeha, Goran) and Ostros have not resolved the issue of water supply. In the infrastructurally neglected Virpazar, as a gem of our tourist offer, the issue of parking space must be resolved, and the advantages of Lake Skadar must finally be valorized. Polje settlement must get safe sidewalks, so that children from this area can finally get to school safely. Sutomore and Čanj, as the pearls of the Bar coast, remained on the margins of tourist development and the complete indifference of the local DPS authorities.
Old Bar, and especially the old town, hides incredible potential that must be used strategically. The recent cheap and dysfunctional restoration of the Staobara cobblestones speaks volumes about the lack of hearing and is a symbol of lack of vision and disrespect for the authenticity of this area.
Cultural life in the city was practically reduced to a month of the summer tourist season, with poor facilities, no continuity, and often no quality, while Bar, as the largest coastal city in a country popular for its water polo successes, must get a city pool.
How do you think you can solve the problem of unemployment, which is faced by many municipalities in Montenegro, and how, if you are in power, will you increase the standard of living of the citizens?
As the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, together with the Prime Minister, we are working on the renewal of the year-round Bar-Bari shipping line, which would give an additional impetus to the general development of our city and the employment of the qualified workforce that we really have.
The unnatural division of Port Bar caused enormous damage to both the city and the state, which increased unemployment and led to the complete deletion of Port Bar from the map of world ports. Bearing this in mind, as Baranin, I will advocate for the unification of the Port of Bar and bringing in a strategic operator with whom we are in negotiations, which would radically change the economic picture of our city for the better and increase employment, not only in the port but in over 20 sectors that are logistically linked to this system.
Do you have a plan on how to concretely help the citizens to meet the further deterioration of economic conditions in the country?
During the wave of the economic crisis, but also in anticipation of a possible new one, the Government and the ministry headed by me undertook many activities aimed at helping citizens. Reduction of excise duty on fuel, reduction of VAT and limitation of margins on certain food items, as well as numerous other steps taken together with our economy are just some of them.
We believe that the local government remained silent on the crisis, on cooperation with the Government and did almost nothing to ease the citizens' problems. I believe and will certainly change this practice, so that the municipality would care much more about the social and economic status of its citizens
If you are in power, will you deal with the practice of party favoritism in local offices?
Party employment represents a systemic, state problem, and I cannot hide my dissatisfaction with that issue even after the changes from August 30. In Bar, that model, along with endemic corruption and nepotism, continues throughout the DPS rule. However, it is not only party recruitment that is a problem, a much more pronounced problem is exclusively the employment of unprofessional and unqualified party personnel without a clear system of responsibility and the absence of minimum corporate management criteria.
Because party affiliation is not the only problem, it should not always be a limitation if people are honest, professional, responsible and do not use their position for party purposes. It is this model, without party conditioning, with these criteria that will be dominant if I am the president of the municipality.
What result do you expect in the elections? Which subjects are you potentially ready to cooperate with after the election? What is your condition for cooperation with anyone?
Our coalition and I personally expect a fantastic result, and this is what the results from the field tell us every day after numerous conversations with citizens, as well as all the research. For that, we are candidates for both a serious struggle and results in the matter of justice in Montenegro, advocacy for an honest and modern society, as well as my results in the economy and the homely approach and love for the Bar of all our candidates.
What is certain is that the current government in Bar will experience a debacle, especially in relation to the results of the last local elections. The DPS-SDP group with Branimir Gvozdenović as the essential leader of the coalition and weak local officials face disappointed voters every day who no longer want to listen to false promises, fear-mongering and the primitive story of divisions.
Citizens have finally seized their freedom and simply want to punish this irresponsible and blackmailing policy of DPS. All those who make a clear departure from this way of governing will be our partners in the constitution of a new government. Our program "At least it can" will be the backbone of a new era in the development of the city we adore.
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