Budva Municipality Day, November 22 every year was an event during which the local administration had something to brag about what it had done in the past year. On that day, when the Liberation Day is celebrated, the city fathers would traditionally compete in cutting ribbons, opening new roads, kindergartens, new infrastructure facilities...
Now, there are no such celebrations, even though the city coffers are full of money, because the capital budget has not even been started, and numerous capital projects have remained just a dead letter on paper.
That is why, according to the unique assessment of the opposition, this year is one of the most difficult in the recent history of Budva.
The opposition sees a way out of the chaotic situation in which Budva found itself in the replacement of the current government, and then the calling of early elections, because by detaining the President of the Municipality Milo Božović For seven months, Budva has been going through a severe political and institutional crisis, marked by internal political upheavals in the ruling bloc, the former Democratic Front.
And while waiting to see if by Thursday, when the regular session of the local parliament is scheduled, the ruling DF will manage to "convince" its 17 councilors to vote on Božović's proposal that his deputy be the acting director of the Waterworks Jasna Dokić, in the opposition, they see that this is only a further deepening of the crisis.
Leader of Budva Democrats Krsto Radović believes that the situation in which the city is in is devastating, and called on the councilors from the former DF "to stand up and face the extremely serious situation". He states that today the city does not have the opportunity to present to the citizens what has been done in the spirit of celebration.
"The situation in which we celebrate the Municipal Day with the president in prison, with blocked institutions, judgments whose payment of claims will be returned by our children, political and criminal clans in conjunction, with nepotism in a society that does not provide even close to equal opportunities for everyone is a defeatist situation. What kind of example are we setting for the younger generations? We relativized every form of reckless and irresponsible behavior and created an environment in which shameful events are socially acceptable. I call on my fellow councilors, especially those who make up the absolute power, to stand up and face the extremely serious situation. Don't let our descendants remember you with shame... because posterity will judge your deeds", said Radović.
Leader of the Budva committee of the Civic Movement URA Blazo Radjenovic points out that it is incomprehensible that not a single investment was started or realized in Budva in 2023, and EUR 15 million out of the total EUR 41,6 million was provided for the capital budget this year.
"Citizens of Budva, unfortunately, witness a chaotic situation and general social, economic, cultural and infrastructural regression every day. After every rain, boats can be driven through the main streets and boulevards instead of cars, performances and literary evenings must be adjusted to the weather forecast, because they can only be organized outdoors due to the absence of the Cultural Center. Instead of the well-arranged Budva promenade, this summer we watched the "Sabac fair", and instead of winning the race for the European Capital of Culture, we became the losers in the arbitration proceedings with WTE, which will cost us 40 million euros, and the employees of the local administration have been unemployed for several months. they pay their salaries irregularly", pointed out Rađenović.
According to him, the intra-party vote took precedence over the operationalization of business and putting the Port of Budva into full functionality.
"Today Budva, at the dawn of the celebration of the Day of its liberation and victory over fascism, when the local government should be praised and report on the results of the work of the past year, unfortunately for everyone, there is nothing to celebrate. There is no justification for the state to which the executive and representative authorities have brought Budva and its citizens. The most responsible for this situation are the president of the municipality and the Assembly, and elementary decency dictates that they resign or be dismissed, and the Assembly either shortens the mandate and organizes early elections or forms a more responsible government", said Radjenović.
And the head of the Budva DPS board Milan Tičić he repeated that the solution to the crisis lies in early elections.
"The results of the current government, if it exists at all in the Municipality of Budva, are such that they say the opposite of the pre-election slogan and the promise that "Budva comes first". In a situation where the first man of the city has been in pre-trial detention for more than half a year, when the payment of monthly salaries to employees is called into question, when we do not have authorized persons who can manage the municipality in some way, it is clear that complete anarchy reigns. In this context, it is clear that there is no mention of projects and achievements of the Municipality, and at least there are no visible positive effects that citizens can feel. Currently, the Government has a great responsibility, which, in accordance with the Law on Local Self-Government, can dismiss the president of the capital city, capital or municipality, if he does not perform his duties for half a year. "Also, in the context of the crisis and the local board of the former DF, there are visible disagreements about the selection of a possible successor to the president, and also about the appointment of the vice-president of the municipality who would take over the administration, therefore the only logical way out is early local elections," Tičić said.
President of the Budva SDP municipal committee Petar Odžić points out that the Municipality of Budva welcomes the Municipal Day in an unenviable position - with an arrested mayor, no parliamentary majority, no announced capital projects, with a delay in the payment of wages and an ever-larger budget deficit, with the risk of account blocking that is measured in tens of millions...
"Such a situation requires a serious and professional executive power, which will work to remedy the situation in the future. If at the next session there is no majority for the election of the vice-president, a parliamentary dialogue should be started that will resolve the newly created situation through the formation of a new majority or a shortening of the mandate, which would be the fairest solution under these circumstances," emphasizes Odžić.
Krsto Rađenović: We are hostages of legal barriers and wrong political decisions
President of SNP Budva Krsto Radjenovic points out that "the Municipality is simply not able to function without the first person of the Municipality, all decisions and documents travel through the court, they go to him for signature and that cycle is completely dysfunctional for the normal work of the local government".
"Budva is today a hostage of legal barriers and wrong political decisions. I believe that no serious infrastructure project will be realized, and the economy of the city, where investors slowly buy suitcases, we are watching as it collapses, all this in contrast to the former big pre-election promises", said Radjenović.
He believes that "the correct political decision should be made as soon as possible, the chains that currently surround Budva should be removed and new economic, cultural and infrastructural projects should be started and the next tourist season should be prepared as successfully as possible, in order to welcome it in full capacity".
"The citizens of Budva deserve and will very soon have a better life, a responsible government and conditions in which they can progress in every respect", pointed out Rađenović.
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