The trade union organization of employees of the Directorate for Inspection Affairs (UIP) asked the representatives of the Government to once again consider in detail the issue of returning inspections to the framework of line ministries and whether this is a path to greater efficiency or a few steps backwards.
"As professionals, who know in detail the complexity of the functioning system of inspection work, we assure you that there are numerous reasons why such a move would have harmful consequences for the efficiency of the work of inspections and the protection of public interests in all administrative areas, and ultimately for the state's revenues", stated is in an open letter to Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.
In the letter, signed by the presidents of the representative Union of UIP employees and the Union of Administration and Justice, Ivan Todorović and Nenad Rakočević, it was stated that the return of inspections to the ministries carries a great risk of politicization of inspections and jeopardizing the independence of inspectors in their work.
"We belong to a society where it is not uncommon for numerous individuals and interest groups to try to influence the work of inspectors in various ways, often citing political affiliation. "Putting inspectors in a position of dependence on political subjects, who are at the head of ministries, is inadmissible, especially since inspectors perform their duties on a mandated basis, for a period of five years, after which they must be re-elected," explained the Union.
Therefore, they consider unfounded the claim that the inspections will be more efficient in their work under the mentioned circumstances.
"In order for inspections to be effective and achieve good work results, it is necessary to have conditions in which inspectors will be protected from attempts of various types of external influence by individuals or groups. That is why it is necessary to preserve the UIP as a central inspection body, because only such a framework of inspection activities can ensure full independence in the work of inspectors, which is the basis for impartial and indiscriminate inspection supervision in order to achieve the best possible work results," the letter states.
Union representatives recalled that last year numerous inspections within the UIP achieved record results, and that the progress and professionalism in the inspection approach was recognized by all relevant social factors, especially international organizations, the non-governmental sector and the media.
"That's why we urge you not to waste time and resources on the demanding process of decentralization of inspections, but to dedicate ourselves together to the additional improvement of the work of the UIP, through the strengthening of personnel and administrative capacities, the introduction of internal control of the work of inspectors, the improvement of working conditions and other adequate measures to increase efficiency", said the UIP Employees' Union.
They asked the prime minister to look at what happened in neighboring Croatia, which at one time returned inspections under the framework of ministries, but very quickly, noticing all the shortcomings of that move, re-formed a single inspection body - the State Inspectorate.
"We have no doubt that the same fate would befall the inspections in Montenegro, but at a time when we have record results in suppressing illegal activities, it is a luxury to experiment with the way such an authority works. "The complex procedure of separating and merging inspection authorities will mostly benefit those who do not respect and do not implement existing laws and regulations, that is, who are engaged in illegal business," the trade union warned.
They believe that decentralization would jeopardize the protection of the parties in appeals against inspectors' decisions, given that the relevant ministries decide on appeals as second-instance authorities, so in inspection procedures, the ministry would act both as a first-instance and as a second-instance authority.
"An even more significant problem is that a part of the inspectors in the domain of their competence performs inspections of the ministries, within whose framework they would function, if the decentralization model is adopted, and this means that they would potentially undertake administrative measures and actions against their superiors," they said. from the Union.
They believe that only a single body, such as the UIP, can ensure the efficient coordinated action of different inspections, which is of particular importance when it is taken into account that a significant number of citizens' reports relate to the jurisdiction of several inspections.
"Coordination is particularly important during increased inspection supervision in tourist destinations, during the summer and winter tourist season, when different inspections work together on the ground with the aim of comprehensive supervision and faster exchange of mutual information," the letter stated.
The Trade Union said that significant strides have been made recently in order to make inspections in the UIP more efficient.
"The introduction of the advanced electronic system JIIS, which was financed through IPA projects, greatly facilitated and improved the inspectors' daily work. This system enables very fast communication between different inspections, which is of great importance in order not to waste time on unnecessary written communication", said the Union representatives.
They added that without such a unique information system, the quality of inspection supervision could not be maintained at the current level.
"We especially want to emphasize that we are concerned about the Government's intention to carry out the decentralization process in a relatively short period of time, without an adequate study, detailed analysis and without the involvement of the professional public and inspection representatives, who could provide the most important data regarding the justification of such a move. It is especially surprising that this is happening after last year, in which numerous inspections showed the highest efficiency since the beginning of their existence," the letter states.
The Trade Union believes that there are numerous arguments that make the existence of a single inspection body, such as the UIP, justified and necessary, which they are ready to present.
"Appreciating the extraordinary effort of the Government in the previous period in order to establish a better and more efficient system of public administration, we expect your dedication to this important topic and understanding of its complexity. Therefore, we ask you once again that, before making such a major decision, involve inspectors and experts from different fields, so that through a reasoned exchange of opinions, appropriate conclusions can be reached as to whether it is necessary to decentralize the operation of inspections or to keep a single body and work on its further improvement. ", concludes the letter.
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