The Ministry of Public Administration announced that they understand the approach of the Municipality of Plav to invest as much money as possible in projects, but they note that this was not the subject of supervision by that department.
"On the contrary, legal and statutory obligations, which are actually instruments for exercising citizens' rights to local self-government, cannot be interpreted as they please - but as the law requires. And the law requires democratic achievements at the local level, through the mandatory existence of a deputy mayor," the MPA announced.
Yesterday, the department warned three municipalities that had not appointed vice presidents that ignoring recommendations on this matter could lead to increased supervision, a formal warning, and if the conditions are met, the strictest measures - dismissal of the municipal president or dissolution of the local assembly.
After monitoring the implementation of the Law on Local Self-Government (Article 58), the Ministry announced yesterday that Budva, Plav and Plužine had not appointed their deputy mayors, and they were ordered to act urgently and appoint them by March 2.
The Mayor of Plav Municipality, Nihad Canović, told "Vijesti" yesterday that they had received a report from the Ministry, announcing that they would comply with the law and appoint a vice-president. "We have not appointed him so far due to cost rationalization... We thought that it would be better to allocate that amount to development projects," he said.
The Ministry, in today's statement, says that municipalities have room to save money for bodies that must exist.
"The MPA administrative inspection has determined the state of affairs in the municipalities, so the insight into the situation of each municipality is broader than how individual local officials react. We are now in the phase of supervision and deadlines - and we expect obligations to be fulfilled in order to avoid further consequences," the statement reads.
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