The decision on the distribution of funds for the work of non-governmental organizations in this year's budget of the municipality of Herceg Novi is extremely controversial, because it is not in line with the law and is characterized by non-transparency, unfairness and a lack of responsibility towards all participants of the competition, announced seven NGOs from that municipality.
They say that only 70.000 euros have been allocated for NGO work and projects, which is 0,3 of the current budget, and that 0,5 percent is the legal norm defined by the Decision on the distribution of funds for NGO projects.
"We are fully justified in suspecting that there was a selective selection of 12 of the 27 submitted, or accepted, NGO projects," states the statement signed by: EkoKul Media, Youth Center, Ruke, Xena, Alternaut, Hercegnov Theater and Nada.
They emphasize that they have absolutely nothing against the 12 NGO projects to which the Commission allocated all 70.000 euros.
"However, there are 12 more projects on the ranking list that, according to the Commission's assessment, met the criteria. Again, we do not know which ones and how they were scored. Just a notification that there were not enough funds for 12 projects. The Commission, or maybe those who decided instead her, they completely ignored and rejected other valuable and useful projects for the local community," they add.
They also said that projects that are year-round or are traditionally organized in the first part of the year are endangered and put at risk.
An additional problem, they state, is represented by "debatable criteria" for the distribution of funds and the scoring of projects.
They also say that the work of the Allocation Commission "does not inspire confidence in either the expertise or the legality of the process".
"The explanations and responses to our objections and requests for the delivery of score sheets for all participants were made beyond the legal deadline. At the same time, they are incomplete, illogical and incorrect," state seven NGOs, and add:
"We are aware that the Commission for the distribution of funds included members who are also founders or members of the management structure of other NGOs, which is also not allowed by the aforementioned Decision on the financing of NGOs. Such an obvious conflict of interest completely calls into question the legality of the distribution process and is contrary to The Law on NGOs."
They believe that these facts are sufficient to annul the decision on distribution, and to change the "previous bad practice" in future procedures.
"It is up to the decision-makers in Herceg Novi to correct the omissions made towards representatives of the civil sector," the announcement concludes.
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