The municipality of Ulcinj intends to erect a monument Skanderbeg, but in a different location and bigger and more expensive than originally planned back in 2018.
According to the proposed decision on the erection of the memorial "Đerđ Kastrioti Skenderbeg - Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu" by May 2025, the location of the monument has been moved fifty meters from the original one - the roundabout near the Municipality building, so it should be placed in a nearby parking lot, according to the House of health.
With the proposal, after almost two and a half years, the topic of erecting a monument to Skanderbeg has been brought up to date again, and it is scheduled to be presented to the councilors of the Municipal Assembly at the session scheduled for October 28.
As written in the explanation, the monument will be made of cast bronze with dimensions of 220cm - 260cm x 420cm - 460cm, height 240cm - 280cm.
It will be on a stand made of natural stone, treated or untreated marble, treated granite or similar, dimensions 180cm - 200cm x 420 - 460cm, height 240 - 280cm.
The funds for erecting the monument are provided by the Municipality, which received the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Media on the draft decision.
Previously, the saga of erecting a monument to the famous hero lasted from 2018 to 2022. After almost five years of legal wrangling, embarrassment with inaccurate and distorted data, and the dilemma of which way the monument will face on the roundabout near the Municipality building in the center of Ulcinj, the initiator of the project , the association "Don Gjon Buzuku", decided to give up organizing the work.
The association that closely cooperates with the Albanian-Montenegrin diaspora, united in the "Simon Filipaj" foundation, informed the then president of the Municipality about its decision in April 2022. Aleksandar Dabović.
In a letter to Dabović, the association condemned, as they stated, the illegal behavior of some employees in the municipal administration and the bureaucratic behavior towards the project, that is, complicating the procedure. Also, they emphasized that the national folk hero does not deserve such treatment, because monuments of this type are placed in the centers of world metropolises with a simple procedure and great appreciation and respect.
"Vijesti" failed to get in touch with the authorized representative of the NGO "Don Gjon Buzuku" Đerđo Pepđonović, so the public is deprived of answers to the question of whether and in what way the Extension is still part of the story about the erection of the monument to Skanderbeg.
The money for the monument was to be provided by the Albanian-Montenegrin diaspora united in the "Simon Filipaj" foundation, along with the Ulcinj-based NGO "Don Gjon Buzuku".
The monument was supposed to cost around 60 euros and be a replica of the one already existing in Tirana, only smaller in size.
President of the Municipality Genzi Nimanbeg, at whose request she is the president of the parliament Ivana Popović included that point in the agenda of the scheduled session, he told "Vijesti" that the Municipality took over that project.
"After the earlier initiators gave up on further implementation of the project, we decided to take it over with the fact that we changed the location and dimensions", said Nimanbegu.
He emphasized that the first estimates indicate that the monument with the pedestal could cost around 130 thousand euros.
"We have not agreed anything with the NGO 'Don Gjon Buzuku' yet. We know that earlier they wanted to finance the construction of the monument from their sources through the diaspora, and if they want to help, they are welcome," said Nimanbegu.
The saga started back in 2018 when he was the former president of the Municipality Ljoro Nrekic initially received approval from the Ministry of Culture for the proposed program and the construction of the monument to Đerđ Kastriota, but the local Assembly adopted the proposed decision of the executive authority with the full name of the hero Đerđ Kastriota Skanderbeg.
The inspector for cultural heritage then ordered the local Assembly to adopt a new Program for erecting monuments, which would be in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Culture from July 2018. In his explanation, he stated that Nrekić submitted a program proposal for the first time that was not fully compliant. with the Law on Monuments. He explained that, when it comes to prominent personalities, the law essentially stipulates that along with the explanation of the reason for erecting the memorial, unnecessary wording that is not necessary for the content of the program should be omitted.
In March 2019, the Ministry passed a decision on giving consent to amendments to the program for erecting memorials, which related to the deletion of the word "Đurađ" and the addition of the word "Skenderbeg" after the word "Kastrioti". At its session at the end of the same month, the local parliament adopted the program proposal, so that the Ministry would give its consent to Nrekić's request at the beginning of November.
At the end of April 2021, Pepđonović stated that "now we are waiting only for the municipality's tender for the most favorable contractor for the installation of the pedestal".
The installation of the pedestal, worth around five thousand euros, was supposed to be financed by the Municipality.
"The cost of the pedestal will be borne by the Municipality, the sculpture is our obligation and it will be installed later, after the conclusion of the partnership agreement and the international tender," said Pepđonović at the time.
However, despite all the assumptions made, the Municipality did not do its part then...
The monument to the legendary hero was originally supposed to be erected by March 2020, and the NGO "Don Gjon Buzuku" explained that the delay was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the deadlines from the parliamentary decision "are not very binding".
The implementation of the project in previous years was also delayed due to bizarre mistakes of the local government - twice the proposed decisions on the construction of the monument suffered corrections, despite the simple procedure necessary to obtain the green light from the Ministry, which he headed at the time Aleksandar Bogdanović.
However, the interlocutor from the Municipality, who was closely involved in the implementation of the project, said then that things are not exactly as they want to be presented.
"First of all, the place where the monument will be placed was controversial for most councilors. How, for example, to get to the center of the roundabout and take a photo with the hero's monument. Also, it seems to me that there was a foundry problem. The finished molds of the monuments made in Albania, as we know, are not in very good condition. There is also the issue of copyright...", said the interlocutor of "Vijesti" at the time.
He assessed that the Association cannot just manage the entire administrative story.
"I think that it is necessary to start anew and that the location, appearance and budget should be completely transparent in communication with citizens."
Apparently, that's how it will be...
Bonus video:
