Insufficiently developed environmental awareness is an obstacle to green policies, it was assessed at a panel organized by the Civic Alliance (GA) in Ulcinj.
The panel titled "Do political leaders understand green policies?" stated that citizens cannot be expected to develop environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility towards space and nature if they simultaneously see that decision-makers are sending a completely opposite message with their actions.
The President of the Municipality of Ulcinj, Genci Nimanbegu, when asked whether the Velika Plaza case shows in practice that public interest and green standards are being overridden by the business interests of big capital, pointed out that neither Prime Minister Milojko Spajić nor the parliamentary majority respected their opinion, and that this was one of the worst decisions he remembers since entering parliament.
As announced by the CA, he said that he was particularly concerned that the interests of a foreign company were put ahead of the interests of Montenegrin citizens.
Nimanbegu believes that this is a decision that only shows that the culmination of populism and party interests, and perhaps some hidden interests, has occurred.
"He expressed hope that the failure to sign the law by President (Jakov) Milatović and the opinion of the European Commission will influence the position of the deputies in the second round of voting," the statement said.
When asked whether it was true that unpleasant tones and offensive words marked the meetings with Spajić, Nimanbegu answered in the affirmative, adding that the Prime Minister obviously did not properly understand his role and the responsibility that comes with the position of Prime Minister.
Nimanbegu, speaking about Solana, announced the establishment of a governance mechanism and added that although they want a partnership with the state, they are not yet close to an agreement.
"In addition, he emphasized the importance of protecting the unique Bojana basin, because this area serves humans, not just tourism," the statement said.
When asked how large projects affect the waste disposal system, the director of the Eco Fund, Draško Boljević, said that he assumes that environmentally conscious investors are coming.
"The question arises as to whether we as a state are ready to implement it in the manner prescribed by law and by-laws," the statement said.
Boljević added that the amount of waste we produce per citizen has already increased on a daily basis, and that it is growing year after year, especially with the arrival of tourists during the season.
Commenting on the issue of illegal landfills, Boljević emphasized that the Eco Fund is engaged in their rehabilitation and that there are locations that are included in the state plan, but are not included in the local plan, and vice versa.
He stated that in the future they will have to create a system that would allow only locations that are included in both plans to be subject to remediation.
"Regarding waste, the state collects zero euros in revenue from waste, the point is to adopt a set of bylaws as soon as possible, to horizontally harmonize regulations with other laws and for Montenegro to collect revenue from waste," said Boljević.
He added that only then can they talk about achieving some goals.
Commenting on the current issue of Velika plaza, the program director of the Civic Association Milan Radović said that a number of irregularities were observed in this example, given that the entire process was not transparent and did not include the professional public, as well as respecting the opinions of relevant agencies.
"For 30 years in our parliament, we have witnessed that the interests of political parties almost without exception are ahead of the public interest," added Radović.
He said that he could not remember a single case in which an MP voted against the interests of his party, even when it meant protecting the public good.
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