The capital city claims that they are proud of the cooperation with the private company with which the Podgorica holiday market was organized, however - not enough to mention it in the annual work report for the past year and to publicly present information about the nature of that cooperation.
In the Report on the work of the mayor, administrative bodies and services of the Capital City for 2018, adopted at the session on April 11, there are numerous examples of cooperation with private companies, non-governmental organizations, state institutions...
However, nowhere in that document is it stated that the city authorities organized the Podgorica holiday market last year in cooperation with the "Culture Club", which is backed by private individuals - the brothers Zoran and Sava Rakočević, who are also the owners of several catering establishments in Bokeška street.
The report says that the capital is the organizer.
"The capital organized the First Podgorica Holiday Market, which included a rich cultural and artistic program suitable for all categories of the population. At the Pazar, Montenegrin producers presented their products in typically built wooden houses. In addition, a New Year's Eve party was organized, and an ice rink was set up in Njegošev park", it is written in the report on the work of the city administration for 2018.
In part of the same document, it is also mentioned that the Tourist Organization (TO) of Podgorica provided support to numerous events, including the Podgorica Market, and that the Secretariat for Culture and Sports participated in the realization of that event, which was organized this year as well.
There is not even a word about the company "Brca", which is the mastermind behind the "Culture Club" concept and co-organizer of the New Year's and Spring Market.
That the Pazar was nevertheless organized on the initiative of the Rakočević brothers, is discreetly revealed through the address of one of them in the press release of the Capital City regarding the organization of the event last year.
In that text, it is written that the director of the "Culture Club" Sava Rakočević, "expressed his satisfaction that the City found it necessary to recognize the quality of the idea and to participate in the creation of the First Podgorica Holiday Market".
Recently, in response to the writing of "Vijesti", the Capital City stated that they had accepted the initiative of a private partner: "We decided to accept the initiative of a private partner so that we would not have to deal with the organization of the event in detail, while recognizing its importance for the wider social the community", they stated from the PG bureau.
Events that are important for the wider social community, i.e. the public, should have certain rules defined - however, they are not set when it comes to the organization of the Market.
The public still does not know anything about the nature of the cooperation between the Capital City and the Culture Club - whether it was decided by the councilors in the Assembly of the Capital City, why it was not realized through a decision on private-public partnership.
The signing of the contract based on such a decision is certainly preceded by a public invitation, which did not happen in the case of Pazar.
The public still doesn't have an answer to the question of whether, if "Culture Club" is the main idea behind the project, a decision on cooperation was made, a memorandum, an agreement was signed, any kind of document defining the rights and obligations of the partners, such as, for example, in case of cooperation between the organizers of the Sea Dance Festival and the Government. Through that contract, the duration of the contract was specified, and it is also known how much money the state allocates from the budget to support the festival. About the cooperation of the Capital City and the "Culture Club", the public only knows that the city administration has completed the complete administrative part of the work concerning the organization and that the Capital City and TO Podgorica reported the event to the competent authorities - the Police Administration, the Tax Administration, the Institute for Emergency Medicine assistance, the Secretariat for Communal Affairs, the Communal Police, the Communal Inspection and the Protection and Rescue Service.
It is also known that the Secretariat for Communal Affairs, at the request of the "Culture Club" from October 18, gave consent to hold the Second Podgorica Holiday Market, that 42 houses - 38 smaller ones and four larger ones - were placed on the Market, as well as that the money from the lease goes to a private company. The rent of the cottages is 300 to 2.000 euros, for the entire duration of the event.
The capital city said that "the tenants of the houses on Independence Square are small local entrepreneurs, traders and manufacturers", but the city administration actually has no influence on the choice of tenants. They are chosen by the "Culture Club", without any prior notice or invitation to which those interested could apply for a lease. Thus, some other potential tenants, who do not even know the organizers, could not register to participate in the Market.
The tourist organization of Bar, where the New Year's event 2020 is organized, has published a public call for renting New Year's houses and stands, and that call contains a map with the positions of the houses and stands and an application form in which interested parties, among other things, state what type of products they plan to exhibit , which company is in question and what is its activity. A similar invitation for the rental of houses during last year's reception and in the first days of 2019 was also announced by Hercegno-based JUK Herceg Fest.
Several tenants of houses on the Podgorica market in an unofficial conversation with "Vijesti" said that the Rakočevićs, when they invited them to present the offer, told them that the rental price included a lump sum.
"It sounded more tempting that way, to pay 300 euros and that's it. It turned out that I have to pay 200 euros more - with the flat rate paid, I pay 500 for the house for all the days of the Bazaar", one of the exhibitors told "Vijesta".
That by paying the Rakočevićs they did not complete all payment obligations for participation in the market, the tenants found out after writing "Vijesti", when they were visited by inspectors from the Tax Administration.
Tax inspectors, also after writing "Vijesti", sanctioned five persons for not having a general tax registration.
In addition to not setting clear rules on the organization of the event, including how and who can participate in the Market, the Capital City also does not have a clear picture of the costs, that is, the projected profit from the organization of the Market.
Referring to the City of Zagreb, which, as they said, annually allocates over 700.000 for the needs of the Advent organization, they said that the organization of the Podgorica market costs almost ten times less. But they did not answer whether last year, when the market was organized for the first time, the capital achieved economic revenues and how much those revenues were, and they did not answer how much income was generated based on taxes, different fees... There is no answer about what the projections are either. in this sense also for this year's Market. They also denied the public an answer to the question of whether and how much money, that is, other funds, specifically, the capital invests in the organization of the market and, if so, based on which decisions and procedures.
The only answer that emerges from the response of the Capital City is that the Market is organized for the account of a private company...
The Podgorica holiday market is held until January 2.
Stretchable cost value of Pazar
The arrangement between the Capital City and the "Culture Club" is not known to the public, although it must have been defined by some document, i.e. a contract.
Judging by the information from the capital, the organization of the Podgorica market costs almost 70.000 euros. If it is judged only by the income from the rental of houses - calculating that the lowest price of 42 euros had to be paid for each of the 300 houses, the total income would be 12.600 euros. Some houses, however, according to data provided by the City administration, cost up to 2.000 euros. According to the Law on Public Procurement, a public invitation is mandatory for the procurement of goods and services whose value is over 15.000 euros. In the case of procurement of services, that is, goods whose value is below 15.000, in this case the Rulebook on the implementation of procedures for procurement of small value of the Capital City, which was passed by Mayor Ivan Vuković in October last year, is applied.
Recognition for partners
On the night when the Second Podgorica Holiday Market was opened, the Tourism Organization of Podgorica awarded prizes for the best in tourism and hospitality.
In the "Best Companies and Institutions" category, recognition was also awarded to the restaurant "Gostioni 1928", owned by the Rakočević brothers.
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