The State Audit Institution (DRI) privileges the Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG) and selectively discloses data on operations for the year 2021, the Media Center announced.
Today, they delivered a letter to the SAI and members of the Senate of that institution in order to "indicate the inconsistency of the SAI's actions in exercising its powers".
The reason for their address to that institution was the Final Annual Report on the Audit of the Annual Financial Report of Radio Television of Montenegro for 2021, which was published on November 16, 2022.
As they announced, the media center pointed out to the members of the Senate of the Republic of Croatia the shortcomings on pages 54 and 55 of the RTCG report, where it is stated:
"The heads of the organizational units did not, in accordance with Article 13 of the Rulebook on the part of the salary based on the achieved work results in JP RTCG, submit proposals for decisions on the payment of the employee's salary based on the achieved work results, the integral part of which is the explanation for the payment of incentives based on all the bases and criteria from Article 9 and 10 thereof.
In accordance with Article 14 paragraph 3 and 4 of the Rulebook on the part of the salary based on the achieved results in work in JP RTCG, the competent person of the Audit Subject did not evaluate the employee's work performance, which is the basis for the payment of the salary increase for the director of TVCG.
What is missing from the SAI report, according to the Media Center, is the indication of the total amount of money allocated for the payment of salary benefits based on the achieved work results (variables) in 2021.
This amount, as they say, "is certainly not insignificant, but is measured in hundreds of thousands of euros, which, contrary to procedure and without grounds, were paid to employees".
"We remind you that in similar reports carried out by the SAI, irregularities of other audit subjects in connection with smaller amounts are noted (example 1: Final report on the audit of the Annual Consolidated Financial Report of the Republic of Montenegro for 2021, in which it is stated that without adequate documentation the costs were not justified - 2.441 euros for renting space and paying electricity; example 2: Final report on the audit of the Annual Consolidated Financial Report of the Movement for Change for the year 2021, in which it is stated that without adequate documentation, the costs of purchasing a press in the amount of 174 euros were not justified )", it is stated in the statement signed by the director of the media center Goran Đurović.
While, as they say, certain political parties are rightly identified with deficiencies in their operations even for minor expenses, "at the same time, hundreds of thousands of expenses do not want to be mentioned in the report concerning RTCG's operations."
The Media Center assesses that this uneven approach of the SAI indicates the existence of an intention "to mitigate the consequences of irregularities in RTCG's operations in relation to other audit subjects".
They also add that the SAI report states that "the competent person of the Audit Subject did not evaluate the employee's performance during the payment of the TVCG director's salary increase", but, as they state, it is avoided to announce that the "competent person" is actually the general director of RTCG - Boris Raonić.
"In the DRI report, in the part concerning the payment of salary benefits, nowhere is it stated that the general director of RTCG (based on Article 6 of the contract) was paid monthly, as a special salary supplement, three average net salaries in RTCG, without decisions RTCG Council on increasing earnings based on the achieved work results Based on Article 15 of the Rulebook on the portion of earnings based on the achieved work results in JP RTCG, the RTCG Council should make a decision every month on the payment of up to three average net earnings in RTCG, as a supplement on the general director's basic salary. The SAI "missed" the opportunity to point out in the report that in 2021, the general directors of RTCG, Šundić and Raonić, were paid around 1.500-2.000 euros in salary supplements without the Council's decision, i.e. contrary to legal regulations Đurović announced.
This approach, Đurovič believes, raises suspicions that the members of the Senate of the SAI, because of special relations with the management of RTCG, "had the need to hide the data that they usually provide when they make reports for other subjects of supervision".
They also add that Branislav Radulović was the head of the SAI collegium that prepared the RTCG Business Report in 2021.
"The media center does not expect that the members of the Senate of the SAI will change their attitude towards the work they perform and that they will have the same attitude towards all subjects of the audit, regardless of party or personal preferences. We addressed the SAI solely with the intention of drawing their attention to the fact that their attempts mitigating illegal business and hiding data will not go unnoticed," Đurović said in a statement.
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