As we have witnessed through the media that you are abusing the data you receive based on the institute of free access to information, we are unable to provide you with the requested documentation.
Marko Kovacevic, the mayor of the Municipality of Nikšić, with these words rejected the request of the Vijesti editorial office to submit information on the use of current and permanent budget reserve funds in 2024. Vijesti submitted the request based on access to information of public importance using the MANS application "Ask the institutions".
"In this specific case, the municipality is violating several legal regulations and the indisputable obligation to accurately inform citizens about all details of the municipal budget. The Law on STI must affirm the obligation of proactive disclosure of data, establish unambiguous personal responsibility for STI and a targeted punitive policy," he points out. Marija Popović Kalezić, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS).
"This is information that is by its nature public, and at the state level we already have a positive practice with the Ministry of Finance that this type of data is published proactively on the ministry's website, so without the need to submit a special request and exercise the rights guaranteed by the Law on Free Access to Information. However, the Mayor of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević, has a different opinion, but fortunately it is irrelevant to the administrative procedure that we will conduct in order to protect the public's right to know how taxpayers' money is being spent," he explains. Dejan Milovac, Director of the MANS Research Center.
The MANS service “Ask the Institutions” - support for free access to information and the smartphone application of the same name are entering their fifth year of operation this year. Originally conceived as a response to the COVID19 crisis due to limited access to state institutions, the service “Ask the Institutions” is today an indispensable tool for that part of the journalists and media community in Montenegro that strives to base their reporting and research on facts and official documents. In addition to the media, the service and application “Ask the Institutions” are also used for their work by numerous non-governmental organizations, as well as citizens who want to access some official information that is not publicly available.
Today, more than half of the requests that MANS sends to state institutions come through the aforementioned application from the media, non-governmental organizations and citizens, and are an indicator that Montenegrin society is increasingly recognizing the importance of the Law on Free Access to Information for the general democratization of Montenegrin society.
Milovac believes that there is no doubt that with this decision, the Municipality of Nikšić violated the Law on Free Access to Information and he is certain that this local government will still have to publish the requested data at the end of the procedure.
What is particularly problematic for the director of the MANS Research Center is the explanation given by the Mayor of Nikšić in his letter, which leaves very little room for doubt that this is a case of ignorance of the Law on Free Access to Information and that there is no conscious intention to hide a certain type of data from the public.
"The fact that the first man of the Municipality of Nikšić sees the publication of information of public importance (which budget spending data certainly is) as abuse speaks volumes about how much this local administration recognizes the importance of open and transparent work of state institutions for the democratization of a society," says Milovac.
Marija Petrović Kalezić believes that the Municipality should have all this data on its website, when we talk about the necessity of proactive action, and thus shorten the path to information for both the interested civil sector and citizens.
"Of course, in these cases, judicial authorities, i.e. the Administrative Court, must find a system for faster reaction, and then the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information. Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information have long been expected, but we must admit that even monitoring and implementation of the existing Law have not provided clear instructions for a faster reaction when the Law on STI is being circumvented," adds the executive director of CEGAS.
Bonus video:
