The coalition consisting of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Social Democrats (SD), the Liberal Party (LP) and citizens, which will participate in the local elections in Budva, has a broad coalition capacity, but the former Democratic Front (DF) does not support it in any form. it can be neither programmatically nor ideologically close.
This is what the holder of the election list called "Clean election - Petar Odžić - SDP, SD, LP and citizens" told "Vijesta". Petar Odžić.
He says that the coalition he leads wants to restore Budva's dignity, reconciliation to quarreling fellow citizens, but also the stability of the local administration and that it will be an important factor in the future government.
He believes that there is room through the revision of lower-order plans, after the adoption of the Spatial Plan of Montenegro, to protect the remaining part of the Budva riviera that has not been attacked by concreting. He points out that it is necessary to immediately revise the decision on temporary locations, both municipal and in the Morski Dobr zone, in order to free the devastated area in the season from various inventory and so that the city no longer looks like a cheap fairground.
Your slogan "Clean choice", what does the coalition you lead offer the citizens as a vision of a better Budva?
Budva has experienced a political and moral decline in recent years. The arrest of the leader, dysfunctional system, media subversion and quarrels within the parliamentary majority, robbery of public resources in public institutions, misuse of citizens' funds, failed project "Budva capital of culture", non-holding of parliamentary sessions are key proofs of this claim. The coalition that I lead will restore dignity to Budva, reconciliation to quarreling fellow citizens, and stability to the local self-government, which it did not have in previous years. We will stop the robbery that is once again current in some parts of local governments and businesses. We will rehabilitate public finances, in which the worst financial result in history was recorded last year, as expenses were 17,5 million higher than income. We will open a modern maternity hospital in Budva, and for the residents of Petrovac and Sveti Stefan emergency medical aid substations, free kindergartens for children, new garages in Petrovac and Budva, wastewater treatment plants for Buljarica, Petrovac and Sveti Stefan, as well as many other projects important for our city . We will develop the missing content. We will enrich the cultural offer of Budva and strengthen its Mediterranean identity.
Are you ready for post-election coalitions and which lists are you ready to talk to? Which of the two factions of the former Democratic Front (DF) that have separate lists is programmatically closer to you and with which you are ready to negotiate?
As a coalition that cannot count on absolute power, of course we are ready to be an important factor in the coalition government that will stabilize Budva in every sense after May 26. We will talk with political subjects who are ready to share with us the political ideas and postulates of our coalition, with zero tolerance for corruption, crime and misuse of public resources and a vision of rehabilitation and sustainable and balanced development of the municipality. In any form, the DF cannot be programmatically or ideologically close to our civil and pro-European coalition. We are of the opinion that the former DF caused a lot of damage to Budva, they proved that they cannot manage even in absolute power, so they will receive an adequate response from the voters in the elections on May 26. Our coalition has a broad coalition capacity, because we have results behind us, without affairs and arrests, and we have proven that politics can be an honorable profession.
Budva is facing a big problem of urban chaos, which is becoming more and more pronounced year by year, while the authorities have changed. Do you see the possibility of renovating the space?
We are a political entity that in the past voted against the adoption of the DUP Budva center and DUP Petrovac center, plans that produce the most chaos, as well as for moratoriums on construction in Budva and Bečići. We constantly called for a stop to the concreting of the area, so now we can only state that we were right. Unfortunately, a lot of space in Budva has been permanently usurped and is being devastated. It is possible to rehabilitate the damage by installing public facilities/contents, wherever the space allows. However, there is still a lot of attractive space that must be adequately valorized and maximally protected. First of all, I am referring to the localities of Buljarica, Lučica, Skočiđevojka, the islands of Sveti Nikola and Jaza, which must be valorized in the planning and put into the function of sustainable tourism, while protecting the interests of the local population. After the adoption of the Spatial Plan of Montenegro, it is necessary to revise all lower-order plans in order to protect the remaining part of our coast, with an emphasis on decentralization and the restoration of competences to local self-governments.
One of the problems is the communal order, from the noise problem to the uncontrolled occupation of public areas. Do you see a solution?
The municipal decision on communal order is quite good, with the necessary changes and additions that would standardize unregulated things. However, the problem is its weak application. Noise is one of the main communal problems. We are of the opinion that with the mandatory application of noise limiters, in cooperation with the catering association, the local self-government can solve this decades-old problem. The penal policy for these types of offenses must be rigorous, especially in the Old Town area and promenades. It is necessary to immediately revise the decision on temporary locations, both municipal and in the Sea Property zone, in order to free the devastated space in the season from various inventory and so that the city no longer looks like a cheap fairground.
A large part of the municipal property has been usurped, some attractive properties have been sold for nothing? What is your plan for the Municipality to become a real host and recover what was lost?
The starting point for solving this problem is an adequate list of assets. Only with that document can we properly look at the problems with the municipal property, which is huge. This will also give the opportunity to examine all possible abuses that were committed in the previous period and initiate disputes in order to compensate for the damage. The municipality of Budva has attractive locations, which can certainly be put to use and valorized in order to rehabilitate the damaged parts of the city or to serve as a function of further sustainable development. The municipality should buy some missing locations from private owners. In a city that does not have a theater, a court, a hospital, a larger home for the old, garage facilities, modern container stations, parks, various sports facilities.
Employment in the public sector has become a tool for winning elections
The municipality of Budva with its enterprises has the largest apparatus, more than two thousand employees. How do you see solving this problem and creating an efficient and functional administration?
Party recruitment has gained too much momentum in the last couple of years. Employment in the public sector has become a tool for winning elections, and it is a practice that must be stopped, due to the threat to public finances. Excessive employment is a problem of almost all local governments, which must be approached in an adequate and careful manner. I am not for solutions, as our people would say "over the knee", but for the gradual creation of conditions that will stimulate a number of employees to move to the private sector, through adequate measures for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as by encouraging new entrepreneurs. I am sure that a part of the employees with an adequate severance pay is ready to voluntarily leave the local self-government, which proved to be successful in the period from 2017 to 2022.
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