The Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) elected today Boris Raonic as the new General Director of the Public Service.
Five members of the Council present voted for the election of Raonic, who performed the duties of acting general director, while one ballot was invalid.
Before the session, eight of the nine candidates for that position - Časlav Vujotić, Snežana Burzan Vuksanović, Slaven Knezović, Andrijana Kadija, Žarko Božović, Sabrija Vulić, Vladimir Maraš and Srđan Čović - announced that they would not attend the interviews before the Council as a sign of protest, so they requested a postponement until the correctness of all candidacies is confirmed.
The only remaining candidate was Raonic, with whom the interview began at 14 p.m., after two candidates did not show up.
The election of the new general director of that media company is one of the points of today's Council session, and the candidates who gave up today's interviews believe that Raonic is favored in the entire process.
The President of the Council, Veselin Drljević, said at the session that legal experts confirmed that there is no legal basis for it not to continue.
"All the candidates were duly invited and confirmed their participation in the interviews," he said.
He said that before the session they received "an unsigned, unfiled paper, a letter" where the names of eight candidates were typed and where it was written that they were refusing to be interviewed.
At the session, it was noted that at 10.32:28 this morning, Žarko Božović, XNUMX minutes before the start of the session, received an email in which the candidates informed the Council that they would not be attending the interviews.
"If someone shows up, we will be ready to listen to his public service development plan. If he doesn't show up, the ballots are ready and on them are all the candidates who duly submitted the documentation that was accepted by the commission, and the Council determined that it is valid. Today we will vote as if they had passed the interview, because they did not officially give up if they applied, and they also confirmed their attendance at today's interview," said Drljević.
The Council called the candidates according to the previously established schedule and is adjourning until the next appointment, in which an interview with some of them was supposed to take place.
At the beginning of the Council session, earlier today, Council member Marijana Camović Veličković suggested that the session be postponed, because there are no candidates with whom to hold interviews.
"I remain of the position that no one can condition the Council. We will see if obstruction can defeat the Council and the state," said Drljević.
Raonic: Increase in income, salaries higher than average, reduced number of employees...
Raonic said that they want to make the Public Service the pride of the country and make it the most transparent and transformed institution.
"I think we have done a lot on that front," he added.
He said, among other things, that RTCG's program has "very measurable" results and that, according to the last two surveys, it is the media that is most trusted in Montenegro and that TVCG has the highest viewership, according to surveys by M:tel and Crnogorski Telekom .
He said that they managed to reduce the number of employees and cut the number of freelancers in half.
"Average salaries have increased by 22 percent and are now higher than the national average by, I think, 45 euros," he added.
He says that RTCG achieved an increase in income at all levels, especially from marketing.
"We are one of the few institutions that had positive findings from the State Audit Institution, and in the control audits, except for a few small things, we also have proper findings from the SAI. Independent auditors also gave proper findings," he said.
Raonic said that RTCG "refreshed both personnel and in every other way".
"We finally have the structure of this institution as it should look like a modern public service in Europe".
He says they had "dozens of inspections" and that only one resulted in a fine. "It was a public procurement that was not carried out within a couple of days of the deadline, a banal reason, that is the only illegality that was found here and I, as a manager, had to pay a financial penalty".
"In a few days, the first dismissal due to fake sick leave"
Raonic, when asked whether the number of employees in RTCG is sustainable and whether this number is necessary for the efficient operation of the public service, and whether, if not, he is planning measures to optimize the staff, said that the Montenegrin public service has the least employed in Europe.
He said that they will continue to reduce the number of employees, but certain newsrooms will also have to increase.
"There is a 10 percent surplus, but also about a 15 percent shortage of employees... The goal is to definitely reduce the number of employees, very little, but we have reduced it in three years," he stated.
He says that in RTCG "there was a practice of false sick leave."
He announced that "in a few days" the first dismissal due to false sick leave will be handed out.
"We have people who worked for a decade and were on sick leave. We are slowly ending this practice," he said, but also said that there are those who do not contribute enough.
"I cannot allow someone to spend budget funds without earning a salary," he said.
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