The majority of councilors from the ruling coalition ensured at a recent session that the people of Bar and their representatives in the Municipal Assembly were being sabotaged from being better informed about development projects and the municipality's uncollectible claims, the councilor clubs I Vote Montenegro - I Vote Bar and the Movement for Changes said in a joint statement.
They said that, for reasons unknown to them, the councilors of the ruling majority voted against the proposal of the Conclusion of the councilors Biram Bar and the Movement for Changes, according to which the Municipal Assembly would task the competent Secretariat for Property and Investments with compiling a Report on all projects whose implementation would contribute to a better quality of life, especially those related to the water and sewage network, the development of local roads, solving the problem of parking spaces and the like. "We are left wondering what the councilors of the ruling majority found objectionable in the proposal of our club that the public of Bar be informed of a report that would contain for each project on the territory of our municipality: the current phase of implementation, the estimated value of the project, the funds spent so far and the estimated deadlines for the completion of the project," the statement added.
These councilor clubs believe that a vote against such a proposal is a vote against better informing citizens about important issues.
"The majority of the councilors of the ruling coalition also voted against the proposed Conclusion by the councilor of the Movement for Changes, Aleksandar Lekić, according to which the Service for the Protection of Property and Legal Interests of the Municipality of Bar would compile information on uncollectible claims.
"The fact that there are certain claims of the municipality, the collection of which is no longer possible, is also stated in the Independent Auditor's Report on the proposal for the Final Account of the Municipality of Bar for 2024, which draws attention to the need to consider writing off these claims," the statement states.
Biram Bar and the Movement for Change say that managing public finances requires high responsibility, promptness, and timely undertaking of all legal collection measures.
"Uncollectible receivables represent direct damage to the municipal budget. Citizens should be fully informed in this regard.
"However, the majority of councilors of the ruling majority in Bar voted against the Service for the Protection of Property Interests informing the public about: the amount of uncollectible claims from legal entities based on fees for communal equipment of construction land, the names of legal entities from which collection cannot be expected because the statute of limitations has expired, and the measures that the service has taken over the years to collect," they added.
They wonder what could be the motive of the majority of councilors from the ruling majority for keeping such important information hidden from the public eye.
"Are there privileged investors for whom the law does not apply or only partially applies? Whose interests should the Municipality of Bar represent and do citizens have the right to be fully informed about every euro of their money managed by the local government?"
Unfortunately, during the session that lasted several days, we did not receive a single argument against our proposals from our colleagues from the ruling majority. Moreover, the competent committee for statute and regulations, which consists of representatives of both the government and the opposition, unanimously supported these proposals and proposed to the Parliament to adopt both proposals. However, when it came to voting, the majority was against. The fundamental values of a democratic society are the responsibility of public administration and transparency - which our parliamentary group will always insist on, continue to submit such initiatives and seek answers from those in charge," the statement concluded.
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