Citizens are not at the center of state services and a faster reaction of state authorities is necessary in order to respect citizens' rights. This, among other things, was announced by the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds (CZIP), since since February, when they submitted a petition for the introduction of a moratorium on hunting on the "Voice of Citizens - e-Petitions" portal, they have not received an answer to that request until today. .
"The case of submitting an e-petition confirmed our claims that the citizen is not at the center of state services, as well as that a faster reaction and effectiveness of state authorities is needed in order to respect the rights of citizens and to enable them to demand and seek ways to resolve numerous problems, not only in the area of nature protection, but also in other areas. The absence of a specific response from the Ministry of Agriculture to the submitted petition confirms our position that there is no will and interest in allowing citizens to influence the solution of a burning problem such as poaching", she told "Vijesta" Marija Stanišić from CZIP.
After the emergency sent to the Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media on July XNUMXth, these days they received a response that the department does not have a mechanism to influence the ministries to decide on the submitted petition.
After a series of cases in which protected animal species were targeted, the killing of a female bear in the territory of the Beran municipality in mid-February added fuel to the fire and was the trigger for CZIP and 60 other non-governmental organizations to request the urgent introduction of at least a five-year moratorium from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management to hunt game.
On February 23, CZIP also submitted a request for an electronic petition on the "Voice of Citizens - e-Peticije" portal. The organization received a notification that the petition was duly received, CZIP was notified that, if it meets the requirements for submission, the petition will be open for signature and that the applicant will be notified within 20 working days. That NGO, however, did not receive a response within the stipulated time.
The Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media announced at the time that "within their competences, they will examine the internal procedures within the Government, in order to prevent such occurrences". After that, on April 23, two months after the petition was nominated, the department Aleksandar Stijović expressed a negative opinion. CZIP, however, said that the response of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management did not refer to the request for a petition, but to the "initiative for the urgent introduction of a moratorium on hunting".
In the emergency that was sent to the department on July 5 Tamara Srzentić, from CZIP, among other things, stated that they sought clarification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management in this regard.
"And on June 18, 6, a reply was received that the letter from the Ministry still refers to the sent initiative and not to the petition. The opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management expressed in the letter has no influence on the decision on the admissibility of the nominated petition. The letter expresses the position of that Ministry regarding the evaluation of the expediency and rationality of the request of the petition, which according to the published procedure is not within the competence of the Ministry", they state from the CZIP in an emergency of July 2021 and add that the Ministry of Agriculture was obliged to examine whether the petition can be accepted and available for voting on the "Voice of Citizens - e-Petitions" portal.
They also pointed out that on March 23, the deadline expired in which the Ministry of Public Administration was obliged to determine according to the petition - to accept or reject it and to inform the applicant about the reasons for making a positive or negative decision.
In the response from the Department of Tamara Srzentić dated August 2, which "Vijesti" had access to, it is stated that "The petition for the urgent adoption of regulations on the establishment of hunting grounds is pending a professional and independent census and determination of the number of game animals in Montenegro" on February 23. addressed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. They also state that the petition was not advertised to the commission, whose task is to determine the possible incompetence of the department to which it was sent, and that they do not have a mechanism to influence the ministries in terms of decisions on submitted petitions.
"The Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media does not have a mechanism to influence the ministries to decide on the submitted petition and, from the aspect of competence of this Ministry, all activities have been undertaken so that the interested subject receives an answer to the submitted petition", they state in the answer from the Srzentić department.
Marija Stanišić from CZIP adds that the fact that there is no mechanism to influence the relevant ministries to decide on the submitted petitions, the department of public administration "opens up space for the Government to become 'deaf' to the problems of citizens".
"The solution, i.e. the mechanism must be established, otherwise the concept of the 'Citizens' Voice' service becomes meaningless," she said.
Who and how can apply for an e-Petition
According to the rules of the "Voice of Citizens" service, an electronic petition can be accepted and published if it requires the Government to undertake a specific activity within the scope of its competences, if it is not essentially identical to another e-petition that is open for voting, and if it meets the criteria for submission.
A petition can be submitted by any adult citizen of Montenegro and a foreigner with permanent residence in Montenegro who has an identity card for foreigners.
The deadline for signing the petition is 60 days from the moment it becomes open for voting. The competent ministry decides whether the petition meets the requirements. If the answer is positive, the petition is published on the "Voice of Citizens" portal within 20 working days of submission. Otherwise, the competent ministry rejects it. In both cases, according to the website, the petitioner receives a notification via e-mail.
In order for the petition to be transformed into a formal initiative, it must receive at least 60 votes of support within 3.000 days.
The "Glas građana" project, as written on the portal, is managed by the Ministry of Public Administration.
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