Ministry of Health: Marinović violated legal procedures and abused his official position

"The reasons for potential dismissals in the health care system are exclusively based on professional, ethical, but also standards of good and legal business. Therefore, it is worrying that only political parties participate in the defense of dismissed managers of health institutions, which again speaks to the way they are appointed."

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Marinović, Photo: Luka Zeković
Marinović, Photo: Luka Zeković
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The Ministry of Health announced that Goran Marinović, director of ZU Pharmacy of Montenegro Montefarm, "violated a number of legal acts" in the previous two-year period.

"The Commission for the Control of the Work of Health Institutions established by the Ministry of Health, based on an inspection of the documentation of ZU Pharmacy of Montenegro Montefarm, determined that the director of that institution, Goran Marinović, violated a number of legal acts in the previous two-year period," the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

According to the Commission's findings, it is added, Marinović "several times violated the Law on Health Care, the Labor Law, the Rulebook on closer conditions for the performance of additional work by health workers and associates, as well as the Statute and rulebook on the systematization of Montefarm workplaces".

"Also, it was determined that Montefarm did not conduct financial transactions and business activities in all material aspects in accordance with the Law on Management and Internal Controls in the Public Sector, the Law on State Property, the Law on Public Procurement, the Law on Obligations, as well as other regulations During the management of this public healthcare institution, it was established that Marinović spent about one and a half million euros for the services of the Agency for the Assignment of Employees, which was also stated in its findings by the State audit institution".

In the statement of the Ministry of Health, it is also written that Marinović "in addition to the mandatory internal procedures, every month awarded certain financial compensation to the same employees, without any explanation or basis in the Decision".

"According to preliminary estimates, around 200 euros were spent for this purpose, and in 2023 alone, Marinović signed 160 decisions on incentives on various grounds".

The Ministry of Health also states that, based on an inspection of the documentation, it was established that during 2022 and 2023, Marinović "took over the debt of the wholesaler Medicalana in the total value of around 210 thousand euros based on the Assignment Agreement", and that according to Montefarm had no debts to the private individual at that moment. They add that the SAI also found the same irregularities in its report, and that it referred the findings to the prosecution for further action.

The report, which was sent to Marinović for a statement, says the announcement, contains over 30 irregularities noted by the Commission of the Ministry of Health.

"The Ministry of Health under the leadership of Minister Dr. Šimun will not be subject to pharmaceutical or any other interest lobby, and such insinuations are the result of mere unfounded constructions by the offended party. The reasons for potential changes in the health system are exclusively based on professional, ethical, but also standards of good and legal business. Therefore, it is worrisome that only political parties participate in the defense of dismissed managers of health institutions, which again speaks of the way they are appointed. Political affiliation should not be a determining factor in the selection of managers of health institutions, but professional and human integrity, and that is the maxim of the minister's actions of health, so we consider any manipulations in this sense inappropriate. The work of Minister Šimun, from the very beginning of his mandate, is completely transparent and principled, and therefore available for review by Prime Minister Spajić and all citizens of Montenegro, and in this context, it should not be exclusive to only one a political entity, regardless of its size or parliamentary status, which are always of a changing nature," the announcement concludes.

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