President of the Association of Tenants of Ulcinj Beaches Prelja Škrelja he appealed to the Public Enterprise for the Management of the Marine Assets and the line ministries to come out publicly as soon as possible with information regarding the tender for Montenegrin bathing areas. He said that he did not have any information about it and requested that the procedure be initiated immediately and with the participation of the tenants' representatives.
"And when will the tender be held? Nothing is clear to us. We were told by the end of October. The end of October is already here and we have no information. Tenants call me from Igalo to Ada, day and night, but I don't have that information to share with them," Škrelja said in an interview with "Vijesti".
He complained that in the previous period it was done in a non-transparent manner and ordered that this practice be stopped.
"The good of the sea in us should look for a partner and not hide from us. It is rumored that points based on investment, property in the hinterland of the swimming pool and even the Blue Flag will be abolished. Well, for us, those points saved decades of investment because there are some of us who have been here for 20 or 25 years. We need an agreement for mutual satisfaction, not coercion. That is why I appeal to sit down as soon as possible and solve the accumulated problems so that we do not end up in a blackout for the preparation of the season like last year", pointed out Škrelja.
He stated that he has nothing against competition, but that JP does not understand that with the new way of scoring or assigning swimming pools to new tenants instead of old ones, they can create problems.
"How, for example, will a tenant, if another one comes, pay off the previous investments and justly indemnify him. Not at all. We have struggled for years to build infrastructure on the beaches and to keep it in operation, continuous investments are necessary. We know that we are only tenants, we have not put a paw, as someone says, but as JP thinks to introduce someone else, everything is done. Who will give him electricity, water, where will they go, which roads? I don't know who will allow passage through their own property," Škrelja said.
Because of all this, he added, a transparent procedure with the participation of all parties is necessary and he said that the attitude of JP towards tenants must be changed.
"We tenants live in some fear, whether it is clean or not, whether the dimensions are in order or not... When we see the postman, we immediately think that he is bringing us a letter from JP, a warning or, God forbid, something about termination contract. Many people think that we are hoarding money, but we are happy if we have to pay the rent, obligations to the city, the state and the workers and to hibernate until the next season. This year, the season lasted less than a month and a half, and even if we had a magic wand, it would be difficult to achieve everything," Škrelja said.
He reminded that workers used to come for a salary of 500 euros, but now no one will pay less than a thousand, plus three meals and accommodation.
He called on tenants from Igalo to Ada to be united in all demands.
"We are not asking for anything that does not belong to us. Many colleagues are in debt because of the beaches, their entire families and relatives are employed there... And now someone would just leave them without everything. So let's sit down and talk, all together. Whoever does not pay and does not deserve to be a tenant, let him go, we have no problem with that. Someone else wants a problem where there is none," said Škrelja.
Lost 80 percent of Kosovo's market
"Just look at Albania, I thought it would take decades for them to catch up with us in tourism, and they are already ahead of us in all parameters. Perhaps the fact that we lost 80 percent of the Kosovo market speaks best of this. People go to Albania, and we deal with flat-rate serious tourism demands much more," Škrelja said.
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