Even though the opposition benches criticized the then ministers of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and their coalition partners for privileges at the expense of the citizens, the majority of government members are now behaving in the same way.
In addition to the basic salary, which generally exceeds 1,5 thousand euros per month, most of them receive fees for membership in various commissions and councils.
In addition, they use luxury official cars, receive per diems, variables... Most of these fees are far from the public eye, and on the website of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) you can only find fees for membership in the working bodies of the Government, which are mandatory for ministers. to register in property registers.
Mirza Krnić from Preokret says that it is interesting how people who came on the wave of criticism of the previous government's bad practices are now appropriating what they fought against when they were in the opposition. He believes that there is no logical or ethical justification for this practice.
According to publicly available data from property records for last year (this year's will be published only after March 31, 2024), it is concluded that the Minister of Justice Marko Kovač earned the most from membership in commissions and councils.
He, however, told "Vijesti" that he only received compensation that was based on the law, because it had not been changed in the meantime, and that he donated the rest to charity.
Data from the minister's asset record, published on the KAS website, show that he received compensation of 7.731 euros last year for his work in various commissions and councils.
Kovač is a member of five commissions, three councils (including the Judicial Council), the National Security Council and the Bureau for Operational Communication. He does not receive compensation for membership in the councils for children's rights, the rule of law, sustainable development, the National Security Council, the Commission for Legal Affairs and the Bureau for Operational Coordination.
In the Judicial Council, since his election as a minister on April 28, 2022, he has received a total compensation of 5.138 euros, or 634,4 euros per month.
The fee for the Commission for drafting the Civil Code was 1.665,3, and he received it for October, November and December.
In the Commission for taking the notary exam, he had a fee of 198,4 euros, for November and December, and in the Commission for taking the bar exam, 1.427,4 euros for June, November and December. Fees for the judicial hearing are received only during the periods when it is held, Kovač explains to "Vijesti", stating that he received five fees and kept one.
His salary as Minister of Justice was 1.629 euros per month last year.
In a statement to "Vijesta", Kovač says that the Law on Trainees in Courts and the State Prosecutor's Office and the Bar Exam prescribes compensation for the president, which he is by function. Its amount, he said, is determined by the Government and it amounts to 60 percent of the average gross salary in the previous year.
"I received only that and the monthly compensation for working in the Judicial Council, while I gave the rest, as well as part of the per diem from the Government, for humanitarian purposes. I have evidence for that," said the minister.
Kovač says that he is not an example of an official who wastes money because, as he says, he does not use the official car outside of working hours, he has renounced the police security provided for by law, and he pays for the telephone costs himself.
Although ministers still have significant remuneration, it is less compared to DPS governments, especially in the period when ministers were members of several management boards of companies.
That's right, the Minister of Justice from the Government Duško Marković (DPS) Zoran Pazin was a member of almost 20 councils and commissions. He received fees for membership in only some, but in 2020 he earned a total of 12,4 thousand euros on that basis (Judicial Council, Commission for Drafting the Civil Code and Commission for Taking the Bar Exam).
Marković was a member of ten working bodies, and he received compensation as a member of the Privatization Council. On that basis, he received 2020 euros in 4.280.
The Prime Minister reported one fee
Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic from membership in commissions and councils last year, he reported compensation of 881,84 euros.
According to the asset record for last year, he was a member of a dozen commissions and councils, including the Council for National Security, the National Council for the Fight against Corruption, the Commission for the Political System....
In the record, he stated that he received fees only in the Council for the Control of the Voter List of 881,84 euros per month (for January, February, March and April, while he was the Deputy Prime Minister).
The prime minister's salary of Abazović last year was 1,9 thousand per month.
Minister of Interior Affairs Filip Adzic reported that he is a member of the National Operational Team to Counter Violent Extremism, Terrorism, Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. For that, he received compensation of a total of five thousand euros last year.
He is the president of the Commission for Personnel and Administrative Affairs, but there is no information on whether he receives compensation for this.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Capital Investments Ervin Ibrahimovic he reported last year, in addition to his basic salary, in November only compensation from the National Council for the Analysis and Monitoring of the Security of Energy and Energy Supply of 600 euros.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Jokovic for participating in the working bodies of the Government last year, he received compensation of a total of 1.975 euros. As a member of the Commission for resolving the status of the Meljine hospital in November of last year, he received 500 euros, and from the Council for Privatization and Capital Projects he had 875 euros (May - December). He received a fee of 600 euros in November last year as a member of the National Council for the Analysis and Monitoring of the Security of Energy Supply.
His basic salary as a minister and deputy prime minister was 1.867 euros per month last year.
Minister of Finance Aleksandar Damjanović he received compensation as a member of the Council for Financial Stability, where last year he had a monthly compensation of 700 euros, that is, 5.600 euros in the last year (for the period from assuming the office of minister on April 28).
Last year, he had a ministerial salary of around 1,8 thousand euros.
Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism Ana Novaković Đurović she reported in the file only the compensation from the Privatization Council of a total of 875 euros or 125 euros per month (since taking office). Her basic salary as a minister last year was around 1,7 thousand euros per month.
It also pays to take care of privatizations
Minister of Public Administration Marash Dukaj, in addition to the ministerial salary, last year he received compensation as the president of the Council for Information Security of a total of 2.160 euros. He received compensation for August, September, October, November and December. His ministerial salary last year was 1.685 euros.
Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Admir Adrović last year he received a fee of 1.400 euros for membership in the Fund for the Protection and Realization of Minority Rights. Since taking office as a minister, from May to December, he received compensation as a member of the Social Council of a total of 643 euros. He was a member of eight working bodies for which he did not receive compensation. As a minister last year, he had a monthly salary of 1.653 euros.
Minister without portfolio Zoran Miljanic as a member of the Commission for Investigating Attacks on Journalists received a fee of 2.394 euros from March to December. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the company Wireless Montenegro, for which he received a fee of 5.500 euros for the period February - December. As a minister, he received a salary of 1.945 euros per month last year.
Minister of Health Dragoslav Šcekić received 875 euros for membership in the Privatization Council last year (period May - December). As a minister, he had a salary of around 1.700 euros per month.
Minister of Science Biljana Scepanovic received 408,33 euros as the president of the Council for Scientific and Research Activity in November last year. Her regular salary is 1.833 euros.
Minister of Education Miomir Vojinović in the file, he stated that he receives compensation for membership in the Social Council, but did not state how much it was.
Minister of Economic Development Goran Đurović he did not report that he has fees in any of the working bodies. He is a member of the Privatization Council, but he did not state that in the record, nor did he receive compensation on that basis.
Fees based on membership in working bodies were not reported by the ministers of sports and human and minority rights Vasilije Lalošević i Fatmir Đeka, as well as the Minister of Culture Masha Vlaović.
Krnić: Constant pressure from the public is necessary to change bad practices
"We all remember the disgust of the public when MPs or ministers were members of the management boards of state-owned enterprises and thus received not only large compensations, but also enormous influence beyond politics," Mirza Krnić told "Vijesti".
According to him, if, for example, a minister or other "high-ranking official" performs some activities automatically, then it would be fine if it was counted as part of his basic engagement.
"As soon as he or she becomes a minister or other official, he or she knows that he or she will be in certain working bodies - because that is provided for by the law or act of a lower order. Now it is not some activity that is not known to belong to, say, a minister. And even if there is an activity that requires significant engagement beyond regular activities, isn't it natural to see on the labor market who could do that job and to announce a suitable competition for that", he asked.
He believes that the recipe for eliminating this practice is the same as with the previous government: constant pressure from the public, the media, the civil sector and political subjects who want to subordinate their actions to the general interest. "There is obviously no other way, because such behavior is clearly deeply rooted, which means that persistence in eliminating this practice must be constant - regardless of who is in power," he said.
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