Politicians in Montenegro put personal and party interests ahead of the general interest, masking it with a collective identity and not wanting to solve problems.
This is what a civic activist says for "Vijesti". Stefan Djukic, commenting on the "ambivalent" positions of certain political actors when it comes to the construction of a wastewater treatment plant (collector) in the Zeta village of Botun.
Representatives of the ruling majority in the Government and in the Parliament voted for spatial plans that include the facility, while their party colleagues from Zeta, together with the locals, protested against the collector.
"Our parties and their representatives have no feeling or awareness that with the exercise of power, participation in institutions, they also have some obligations, not just privileges and rights. They continue, in every situation, to put personal and party interests as primary, masking it by collectivizing the struggle - so they fight for the local community, the ethnic group, the state as a whole," believes Đukić.
As he adds, the ruling parties forget that this position also requires some obligations.
"They never want to make a decision that is good for society as a whole if that decision is unpopular with their interest group, or if they can profit politically in another way. Such things are legitimate, but not while in power. Someone has to make 'difficult' decisions from time to time," said the newspaper's interlocutor.
When asked what message they are sending with divided views, he says they are addressing their voters.
"The point is not to solve the problem, but to have a better result in the next elections," Đukić points out.
Speaking about the parties having one position in the Podgorica committee and another in the Zeta committee, he explains that it is better for voters in the capital to say they are for it, and in Zeta that they are against it.
"There is no clear 'highway' of positions that the parties advocate, only steps from yesterday to today," he adds.
In institutions for, in the field against
The Spatial Plan of Montenegro (PPCG) until 2040 was approved by the Government at its session on 12 June, and it, among other things, envisages the construction of a collector in Botun. The same plan was adopted by the Parliament two weeks later. At the parliamentary session, MPs from the Europe Now Movement (PES), New Serbian Democracy (NSD), Democratic People's Party (DNP), Democrats, Bosniak Party, Socialist People's Party (SNP), United Montenegro, Albanian Forum and CIVIS voted in favour of it, while representatives of the Democratic Party of Socialists voted against it.
Also, at the session held on December 10, the Government adopted 12 conclusions on the construction of the plant in Botun, which, among other things, state that the pollution produced by the future plant will be monitored, as well as the remediation of the red mud pool.
Among the MPs, the DNP leader was the most opposed to the collector in Botun. Milan Knezevic. He has repeatedly threatened to leave power if construction of the facility begins or if the police attack protesting citizens. Also, at his last prime minister's meeting held at the end of November, he announced that, if an arrest is made in Botun, he will initiate the procedure for leaving power at the party organs, and that, if he does not have support for this plan, he will leave the party.
Due to opposition to the construction of the collector, the mayor of Podgorica also requested the Prime Minister to expel the DNP from power at the end of September. Saša MujovićThe argument between the two arose after the first man of Podgorica announced that Knežević, at a meeting with the EU ambassador to Montenegro, Johann Satler, said that he would not obstruct the construction of this facility in any way, which the DNP leader denied.
Support for the construction of the collector was also provided by the Democrats in Podgorica, as announced by their councilor. Mitar Paunović.
However, the president of the Zeta branch of the party also gave speeches at the protests against the construction of the plant in Botun. Luka Krstović, ali i NSD-a Miroslav Brajović, as well as the SNP MP Sladjana Kaluđerović.
Also, a few days before the referendum, a Democratic MP Albin Ceman posted a photo on social media of his party colleague and the Minister of Ecology Damjan Ćulafić with the message "Botun to the people of Botun", which many interpreted as support for the citizens of that Zeta village.
From Mugoša to the referendum
The project for a new wastewater treatment plant in Podgorica has been discussed for more than a decade, ever since the time when the city was headed by Miomir Mugoš (DPS).
During the term of office Slavoljub Stijepović (DPS), or in 2017, a loan agreement was signed with the German Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a donation of 10 million was received from the European Union.
All this time, the locals of Botun opposed the project.
At the beginning of 2020, the then director of Waterworks and Sewerage Philip Makrid and director of Bemax company Veselin Kovačević signed a contract for the construction of a primary collector within the wastewater treatment system. After signing the contract, Mayor Ivan Vuković reminded that this is the project of the century for the Capital, the project to build a wastewater treatment system, with an estimated value of over 50 million euros.
After two years, in June 2022, Vuković re-signed the Contract for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant system. In addition to Vuković, the 3.500-page document was initialed by the then executive director of the Makrid Water and Sewerage Company, and the director of the Turkish company Kuzu Group, the contractors. Mehmet Emre Bastopka and member of the board of directors of the Turkish company Alkatraş, Bauram Albauark.
In addition to causing financial collapse for Podgorica if construction does not begin by the end of this year, abandoning the Botun facility could also lead to catastrophic environmental consequences, as the existing collector treats wastewater for a maximum of 55.000 people, and the capital city has a population of around 180.000. Failure to address the wastewater issue could also jeopardize the closure of Chapter 27 (environmental protection), and thus slow down the country's path towards membership in the European Union.
The municipality made the decision to organize the referendum in early October, a few days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave the Capital City of Podgorica approval for the Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the plant construction project.
The people of Botuni do not agree with the decision to build the plant on these plots, despite the claims of the Podgorica and state executive authorities, as well as the domestic and international public, that it is not a polluter. The residents of Botuni, however, do not believe this and emphasize that they have more than a negative experience with the construction and operation of the former Aluminum Plant (KAP), and especially with the red sludge pool, which is still polluting today and the question is when it will be remediated because it has been in the hands of a private company for years that does not care about human health or the health of nature. They also claim that the plant is a major polluter, that the planned waste sludge incinerator is particularly controversial, but also that it is an outdated technology that developed countries are allegedly bypassing.
To prevent the Turkish investor from entering, the people of Botunja first organized guards on the plot across from the one where the construction was planned. After being visited several times by inspectors from the Capital City Inspection Department, they moved the tents to the plot where the facility was planned.
In a referendum held on December 14, 7.834 citizens of Zeta, or 98 percent of those who voted, voted against the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Botun.
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