The leader of the Novi List in the upcoming elections in Herceg Novi, Miloš Konjević, said that he expects to receive support from more than 30 percent of citizens at the polls and said that he will not form a local government with the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the Social Democrats (SD).
"The expectations of everyone in the Nova List are that we will be the winners of these elections and that we will individually win the largest number of votes, or mandates, in the local parliament," he said in an interview with "Vijesti".
Konjević announced that the key problem of Herceg Novi, traffic congestion, will be solved by building bypasses around the city center and the Bay of Kotor, as part of, as he stated, a political agreement with the state-level coalition partner, the Europe Now Movement (PES).
The elections in Herceg Novi are scheduled for April 13th, and nine lists are participating.
What percentage of citizen support do you expect in the elections?
The expectations of everyone in the Nova List are that we will be the winners of these elections and individually win the largest number of votes, or seats in the local parliament. Citizen support will certainly go far beyond 30 percent, and there is no upper limit on the support of the people of Nova for the Nova List.
Which parties would you cooperate with after the elections, and which ones would you not?
We will certainly not cooperate with those with whom we have never cooperated, namely DPS and SD. These parties have shown that they will never deviate from the disastrous policies of the 1990s that systematically destroyed and tried to humiliate Herceg Novi. Other competitors in the election race may get the opportunity to cooperate with us in some capacity, depending on the support they receive in the elections.
What will be your first move if you come to power?
Given that the government will be formed before the summer tourist season, the focus will be on maximum support for the tourism industry, as well as on the implementation of all programs that give authenticity to our offer. The administration and utility services must work in sync, in order to be at the service of citizens during the most important period of the year.
Will you, and if so, how to reduce the practice of party-based employment in local government and local businesses?
Party employment was one of the biggest problems of Herceg Novi in the previous term, especially from the aspect that, regardless of the number of employees, the acute problems of the city are not solved. On that side, a concrete problem is employment, that is, performing daily tasks at each workplace instead of just showing up without concrete results. Public enterprises and secretariats are often considered party offices, instead of citizens' services. This practice must be stopped by giving the profession, not politics, a chance to work and take responsibility. The Novi List will always have an open door for professional people and will never raise the question of party or any other affiliation.
One of the big problems of Herceg Novi is traffic jams, which intensify during the tourist season. A bypass has been proposed as a solution, as well as an underwater tunnel. Also, certain proposals threaten to lose the bay's UNESCO status. How, within what time frame and with how much money do you plan to solve this problem, if you are able to form a government?
For us, traffic is the biggest problem in Herceg Novi, and that is why we have listed the solution to summer congestion as one of the key projects within our political agreement on cooperation with PES. Bypasses represent a central part of the solution, through two projects - a bypass around the city center and a bypass around the Bay of Kotor. Serious conceptual solutions have already been presented, in which our Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Construction is maximally involved.
Cooperation with UNESCO is very important for the state and local government, and all moves are being made in coordination with that organization. The local government's plan is to fully support these projects, as well as to focus on arranging several hundred parking spaces through the construction of garages in key locations such as Igalo, Topla and Bijela. Many of these projects will be implemented through private-public partnerships, and the state's capital budget.
Herceg Novi is supplied with water from Trebinje via Croatia, but during the regular annual cleaning of the hydrotunnel in the pipeline from Plat in Croatia, there are frequent restrictions because the Regional Waterworks cannot meet the needs of the Novi municipality. If you participate in the government, what will you do to solve this problem, but also within what time frame and with how much funding?
It is worth recalling that the restrictions were not only during the period when the Water Supply and Sewerage Department was headed by a professional non-partisan staff, supported by the Nova List. After the politics in Herceg Novi replaced the profession, the restrictions suddenly repeated, and at the most inconvenient time, in the first week of September. Through direct cooperation with the officially sister municipality of Trebinje, we will initiate talks on the implementation of the already presented plan for bringing water to the Herceg Novi system directly from Lake Trebinje. The time and financial framework will be determined through a detailed analysis, but they should not be an obstacle for such a project.
The Meljine wastewater collector and treatment plant projects were supposed to be completed in 2014 and cost around 40 million euros, but they have still not been completed. Also, a large number of houses discharge wastewater directly into the sea. Will this facility be finished in the next four years and who do you hold responsible for its failure, given that you have been in government?
All participants in the government from 2014 until the arrival of the 44th Government are responsible, at all levels. This complex work was, as was customary at that time, entrusted to inexperienced contractors with almost non-existent supervision, and the result has been visible to everyone for over a decade. Instead of a solution, Herceg Novi has received another huge problem in the previous period, but, unfortunately, also those responsible who were not ready to seriously address it. However, the solution is before us, and Novska lista will closely monitor every aspect of it, from the implementation of public procurement to the implementation of works. We also have high expectations from the future Ministry of Public Works in terms of improving and accelerating the implementation of this project.
Do you agree with the idea of building a new hospital near the tunnel in Meljine or are you in favor of saving the existing facility?
We absolutely agree and will work intensively on the implementation of the project to build a new hospital that Herceg Novi needs. The location we have envisaged is ideal, as shown by the studies that have been carried out. We will also fight for the facilities of the current “Meljine” hospital, which was privatized by tycoons in a well-known manner and with well-known contracts to the detriment of the city and the state. What is certain is that the people of Novi and their guests, as well as the programs related to the Igalo Institute, cannot wait for a resolution to the dispute over the old location, which could last for decades. Herceg Novi needs a hospital now.
Are you satisfied with the government's restructuring plan for the Simo Milošević Institute? In your opinion, which solutions are problematic and which are good?
We are extremely pleased that the Institute's problem has come to the forefront of the wider public and that a solution has been found through the engagement of stakeholders from the local and state levels, as well as the academic community. The process of analyzing the problem has unequivocally shown that the policies of previous governments have been disastrous for this great institution, which has left it in a deficit of 30 million. We now have a plan worth 88 million euros that will provide financial security for workers, investment in infrastructure, raising the quality of accommodation and repaying old debts. We are additionally pleased that the analysis has shown that our many years of initiatives regarding the opening of a school in Igalo on the site of the Institute's former Children's Department were correct and that this project has been implemented.
How many investments have been missed due to the lack of planning documentation and what will you do to ensure that planning documents are adopted?
It is certain that many investments have been missed, but we are pleased with the new set of laws that will return the area of spatial planning to local governments. The New List expects a lot from the decentralization process as the main political trend in Europe. We will intensify the preparation of planning documents in the already successful Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Municipal Development.
Olympic swimming pool one of the key projects
The most trophy-winning sports team from Novi, the Jadran Water Polo Club, played European matches in Trebinje last season because the Simo Milošević Institute swimming pool has been out of service since 2021 when the roof collapsed. When will European water polo return to Herceg Novi? Why hasn't the pool's reconstruction process started yet, even though it has been out of service for almost four years?
One of the key infrastructure projects in the future will be an Olympic swimming pool with a garage with over three hundred parking spaces. This capital investment will ensure the European future of Herceg Novi water polo, but also contribute to the solution of one of the burning problems in Herceg Novi. Investment in sports infrastructure will be one of the priorities of the local government, because sport is one of the carriers of the tourist potential of our city, especially in terms of extending the tourist season.
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