The President of the Municipality of Ulcinj and the leader of the Force, Genci Nimanbegu, announced that he will not support the introduction of dual citizenship with Serbia, which the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP) are demanding.
Forca, in coalition with the Democratic Party (DP) of Fatmir Đeka, has been part of Milojko Spajić's government since its formation in October last year, while NSD and DNP entered the executive power at the end of June this year after reconstruction. Before the reconstruction, NSD and DNP demanded the implementation of an interstate agreement with Serbia on dual citizenship, which would also include amendments to the Law on Citizenship.
Nimanbegu said in an interview with "Vijesta" that NSD and DNP politicize every situation too much and believes that the introduction of dual citizenship with Serbia will not give good results, and that it will at least contribute to Montenegro's further path towards the EU.
He said that Forca will be against everything that contradicts Montenegro's European path, good relations with the USA and its neighbors, and against all attempts to revise historical facts.
He says that he does not have a clear position on the "Europe Now 2" program, which envisages an increase in wages, but also a decrease in contributions for pension and disability insurance, but that he is sure that the populist policy of the governments of Zdravko Krivokapić and Dritan Abazović has "completely disrupted" the labor market in Montenegro. Burning.
He accused the Civil Movement (GP) URA and the Albanian Alternative (AA) of continuously working to the detriment and behind the back of the Force.
Nimanbegu was elected president of Ulcinj Municipality at the end of May. He was elected by 20 councilors of the new majority (Forca, Democratic Party, Democratic Alliance, Democratic Party of Socialists, Social Democratic Party, Social Democrats and Bosniak Party) in the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly (SO) after they dismissed Omer Bajraktari from the URA General Assembly.
Will you support the introduction of dual citizenship, announced by NSD and DNP?
Politically, it is clear to me what is behind that proposal - I will remind the public that I resigned from the position of deputy because I thought that the current coalition in power was not well negotiated. My party and coalition decided otherwise. Under these conditions and the proposals of these parties, I will not support the introduction of dual citizenship, because I believe that NSD and DNP politicize every situation too much and I believe that such an introduction will not give good results, and at least it will contribute to our further path towards the EU, where we all strive. This is a serious issue that can permanently damage Montenegro's European path.
The Albanian Alliance coalition, which consists of DP and Forca, of which you are the head, participates in the executive power at the state level. How do you comment on the adoption of the Resolution in Jasenovac, Dachau and Mauthausen?
As you know, we were the only ones who voted against the adoption of this resolution and our positions were clear. The fact that the proponents insisted on the adoption of this resolution, I see more as an anti-European policy, but also an attempt to score political points with Belgrade. The problem is when the need to prove themselves to their voters conflicts with responsible state politics. Due to the adoption of that resolution, Croatia imposed sanctions on the three leaders of the coalition in power, and there was really no real need for adoption. For everything that contradicts Montenegro's European path, all attempts to revise historical facts, which is already evident from the Greater Serbian cuisine, everything that contradicts good relations with the USA and our neighbors and is harmful to Montenegro in the long term - we will as a subject to be against.
Do you think that the Europe Now 2 program is a sustainable project and that it will not threaten the financial stability of the country?
Populism in politics is very harmful. In the short term, he may have results, but we already feel that the populist policy of the governments of Krivokapić and Abazović has completely disrupted the labor market in Montenegro. The pressure for employment in the state administration is unimaginable for ordinary citizens. Only our companies, due to the collective agreements reached a year ago, have to set aside over two million euros more for gross wages this year. This will eventually be reflected in the increase in the prices of the services of these companies.
I don't have a clear opinion on Europe Now 2, because I haven't gotten to know the details of that program. The experts are already warning about the consequences, I hope that the Government and the Parliament will not succumb to any pressure, but that they will carefully analyze all the possible consequences of the decisions that are being planned. The citizens of Montenegro must have a better standard of living and we must work to make that project sustainable. The financial stability of the country can be achieved if the funds are used in the right way and if we make more efforts to increase our own production and exports. Montenegro needs to find a realistic model of economic development and prepare citizens and the market for the next step towards the EU.
If the financial program Europe now 2 does not contradict the political vision that the USA and the EU seek for Montenegro, then this program will be successful. If the political program tends to usurp the political system of Montenegro and create a new political system through the financial program, then the result will be disastrous for the state of Montenegro.
Why did the previous coalition in Ulcinj, which had a mandate until the next regular elections in 2024, fall apart?
The coalition did not completely fall apart. Simply and unilaterally without reason and without any disagreements in almost two years of cooperation, the leaders of GP URA decided not to respect the agreement from 2022 and to expel Forca from the local government. From the coalition at that time, only the Albanian Alternative (AA) of Niko Đeljošaj joined them, and they agreed to cooperate with the Democratic Union of Albanians (DUA) of Mehmet Zenka. All other members of the ruling coalition, DP, SD and SDP, supported that the 2022 agreement be respected.
While it is legitimate and expected that DUA as the opposition wants to enter the government, it is very incorrect for GP URA and AA to work against their partners. It is not new to them as they have worked together against the Force since 2022 at the state level. Now it is clearer to everyone that even then they worked together to prevent us from getting the positions that belonged to us in the previous Government, namely the Directorate for Capital Investments and Spatial Planning under the Ministry of Mrs. (Ana) Novaković Đurović.
Of course, now they can "comfortably" and united together from the opposition help the development of Ulcinj, which is what I expect from them. Although I worry that they don't really have time to deal with local government due to the numerous private initiatives. Except, of course, on social networks where they proved to be experts. "Pupla shume e mish pak" ("A lot of feathers, a little meat") goes one proverb.
Are the previous coalition partners' claims that Forca was the first to enter into negotiations on the re-composition of the government correct?
These are just the claims of the GP URA leader which are incorrect because they neither have sound logic nor any facts behind them. I can state that only the concern "Vijesti" is the only one repeating that claim in every report on that topic. Why does it do that, let the "Vijesti" concern explain, but it is not correct.
How things stand - the interested public knows, all presidents of political parties in Ulcinj and in Montenegro know. You followed the session of the Ulcinj Municipality Assembly, the call to "the people" (the people disguised themselves as GP URA officials) for the violent interruption of the Assembly, organized power outages and tear gas. Their negotiation behind the back of the Force failed, the other parties they contacted simply did not trust them. The moment we found out about their failed negotiations, we had to react and defend ourselves - both our position, but also my integrity, because this was a personal attack on me and key Albanian national entities, because by possibly going to the opposition of the Force and the DP, a very negative political situation would be created for the Albanians in Montenegro. Together with President Đeko, we prevented that, and that makes my satisfaction with the outcome even greater, because we sent political opponents, whom we previously helped a lot, to the opposition.
Is the current majority stable and are there disagreements within the coalition?
The coalition respects the Agreement and our common goal is to assume responsibility, especially now that we are in the midst of the tourist season on which we depend, because our priority is economic development. This is just the beginning of our mandate, but we will try to make every citizen happy to live in this city. It is a long-term goal for which we all need to come together and work together to achieve it, professionally and constructively. I promised the citizens that I would represent them as worthily as possible and that I would work honestly and devotedly on the development of Ulcinj, while during my mandate every partner of our coalition would be valued.
How do you comment on the accusations of the former President of the Municipality, Omer Bajraktari, that the current government is responsible for the fact that Ulcinj does not have an open maritime border crossing this year?
Anything coming from this political entity, whose statements are only for publicity in the central news, I would suggest not to be taken seriously, because there is nothing of their stories. We have a written response from the Ministry of the Interior to my inquiry from June about that crossing, that the competent institutions did not give a positive opinion either last year or this year on the conditions for opening the border crossing. Bajraktara should have thought about this and worked on it since September 2023, when the temporary border crossing was closed until the end of May, and not to support the investment on the Great Scaffolding which damaged the scaffolding itself and the building that served as a temporary border crossing from mid-July to the end of September 2023.
Can the local government do something about the request of tourism workers from Kosovo to allow children from that country to enter without a passport and reduce the crowds at the crossing?
We will do everything to remove the barriers that exist for the entry of tourists to Montenegro. The responsibilities of the Municipality are small, but we will not quickly give up on those justified demands from Kosovo. Based on the information I have from the border crossing, we have an acceleration of procedures and we should thank both governments for that, because the flow and growth of the number of tourists who walk and explore is increasing from year to year and all this needs to be accompanied by infrastructure and manpower. We will lobby to solve the problem of green cards for citizens of Albania, because the president of Skadar, Mr. Bennett to Beca.
The rush hour is late, but the season is getting better
What is the tourist season like and what are the comparative data with 2023?
Spitz started late, after July 15, and these days we are witnessing a large visit. This tourist season is weaker than the previous one, for June and July compared to 2023, the numbers are such that there are 18 percent fewer guests and 14 percent fewer overnight stays. This is evident at the state level and in the region. We will be able to compare concrete results only after September.
As far as Ulcinj is concerned, we must point out the situation when it comes to residential units, that an increasing number of people who used to stay in our city, now already have their own residential facilities, and this has a significant impact on the guest records. But, in any case, Ulcinj has its potential guests and the season is already going well. Every year we have an increasing number of visitors from the diaspora, who make a great contribution to our economic betterment, not only as tourists, but as residents, because they are there as families and stay mostly for two to five weeks, so we should not ignore this fact, which brings good financial income for our employees.
"The announced investors do not have enough resources for the Adriatic"
What about the construction of large hotels in Ulcinj? According to our knowledge, the construction of Galeb, in the most favorable case, can only begin at the end of 2025. Even the investors from Kosovo are not announcing the imminent construction of Jadran.
Ulcinj needs high-category hotels and by no means hotels that have been converted into apartments, in which sales began without any documents and permission from competent institutions, where there are numerous suspicions of corruption at high levels. Hotels are promised, which seem to have completed documentation, which after several years from the announcement end up as residential buildings in plans that the municipality of Ulcinj does not adopt due to centralization. Ulcinj has been waiting for many hotels for decades, this city was promised too much and for too long. You yourself know how much I advocated as a member of parliament regarding these issues, especially when it comes to Galeb and the Adriatic, Lido and the fate of the Ulcinj Riviera and its workers. Unfortunately, a lot depends on the will of the central government and the seriousness of investors.
As for the location of the Hotel Jadran, there is a suspicion that the announced investors do not have enough personnel or financial resources for the announced project. This will be one of my priority questions right after the season. I will raise many questions about this contract, not only about the construction, but also about the way this location is managed, because it is unclear how such a location can be used for parking instead of a hotel.
Will you inform the public of the conclusions of the Inquiry Committee, which aimed to collect information and facts and determine the possible responsibilities of the holders of managerial positions in the process of implementing the Decision on the credit indebtedness of the Municipality of Ulcinj to KFW Bank, so that the citizens would know how tens of millions of their funds?
I do not have any conclusions of the Board of Inquiry from the year 2021/22. As for the 20 million euro project related to the infrastructure for water supply and sewage, we are in the second year of the implementation of this project and I can claim with responsibility that this project should have started much earlier because our political vision as Force was also clear, that infrastructure is needed, followed by hotels and other facilities.
The history is as follows: The President of the Survey Committee, Mr. Naser Resulbegović, then councilor and current chief administrator of the Municipality, addressed the President of the Municipality of Ulcinj in 2021. with the request "for the delivery of data and information related to credit indebtedness of the municipality of Ulcinj with KfW Bank".
7.10.2021. year, all requested and unsolicited documentation was submitted to the Inquiry Committee. In March 2022, the Audit Committee heard Mr. Dabović and Mr. Radović, the President of the Municipality and the Tender Commission, to which the members of the Survey Committee had no objections.
The Cabinet of the President was not informed about the epilogue of the hearing, that is, about the Conclusions of the Annexation Committee.
I was informed that the credit debt was the subject of interest of the competent institutions, i.e. of the prosecutor's office, which has complete documentation and that no irregularities and responsibilities of the holders of managerial functions have been established in the process of implementation of the Decision on credit indebtedness of the Municipality of Ulcinj with KfW Bank.
Why was there no opening of a parliamentary investigation and the formation of an Inquiry Committee in order to collect information and facts about the actions related to the work of the competent administrative bodies, the Italian company Spiga as a contractor and others in connection with the project for water supply and wastewater disposal, worth five million euros? ?
I don't know why, but I know that as the president of the Force, and of the Municipality, I did not receive any written initiative on that topic. I think that the survey committee would probably help us to determine how that investment went, which is why, as the president of the municipality, I spent several weeks in these two months dealing with overcoming the problem of unpaved and dug-up streets, held dozens of meetings and prioritized paving the streets for the citizens, when but the contractor Spiga does not do that. I cannot and will not allow citizens to suffer unpaved streets for up to three years. Perhaps the announcement of the formation of the survey committee scared some people from the previous government. It does not scare us, but we welcome any help to protect the interest of the Municipality and the citizens of Ulcinj. My government will be transparent as I have always been.
How much are the annual installments of the Municipality for loans taken from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and KhW?
These types of investments are made with favorable loans because no municipality has the budget to cover them otherwise, and if they are put into operation properly, we can easily cover and repay these obligations, regardless of how much they will be, through the annual municipal utilities we receive.
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