There are 119 municipal companies operating in Montenegro, more than a third - 45, ended with a loss last year. The total deficit in 2023 was 12,3 million euros. Other municipal companies made a profit which, when everything is added up, is significantly less than the minus - 8,1 million euros.
The biggest losers at the local level are waterworks and sewers whose debt exceeds seven million euros, followed by utility companies with a total debt of 3,7 million. These companies, which are burdened by the number of employees, have been examples of nepotism and partisan employment for decades.
Among the municipalities in terms of losses, the Capital leads the way, whose companies realized more than half of the total losses last year - 6,2 million euros. The share in the total profit is significantly smaller and amounts to only 1,4 million.
After the change of government at the state level in 2020, the staff of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) in Podgorica companies tried to increase the number of workers, and the deficit grew drastically. The DPS loses the elections in the capital in 2022, and the new government only managed to change part of the old staff in 2023, but the new positions are not filled by tried and tested experts, as was promised during the campaign, but loyal and those who have given the party debt.
Enterprises of the Capital City lead in terms of losses
By far the largest debt of all municipal companies is the Podgorica Water Supply and Sewerage, as much as 3,8 million. For a long time, this company had a reputation as a DPS bastion and an example of party employment. Philip Makrid from DPS at the end of 2018, he became the director of this company and held that position until the end of 2023. In 2019, Vodovod and sewerage operated with a profit of 380 thousand, in 2020 the profit was 44 thousand. In 2021, they are still operating positively and end the year with a profit of 13 thousand. But, in the election year 2022, there will be a drastic drop and a loss of 893 thousand, so that in the last year of management of this company by the DPS staff, the debt will increase to 3,8 million euros. Makridu's role at Vodovod ended in October 2023. The new Podgorica authorities that took over the capital after the 2022 elections did not immediately appoint their own people, they even extended Makridu's term of office for a couple of months.
In October 2023, he was appointed as the executive director of Vodovod Aleksandar Nišavić, member of the Main Board of the Democrats of Montenegro (DCG). The company had 568 employees last year.
The fact that the new management did not significantly improve the situation in this company is evidenced by the debt of over two million euros for taxes and contributions. The consequence of non-payment of taxes and contributions is that all those who exercised their right to a pension in the period 2023 and 2024 cannot receive permanent, but rather temporary pension solutions that are reduced by around 50 euros. More than 10 former employees of Vodovod, who retired in the last two years, are conducting proceedings before the Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Disputes.
Recently, a group of workers wrote to the acting director of the Tax Administration of Montenegro Sava Laketić with the request that this institution finally take the measures provided for by law and control the operation of the Waterworks.
"Our only concern is that taxes and salary contributions are paid so that our former colleagues who have exercised their right to a pension in the past year and those who will exercise that right in the coming period will receive final solutions for their earned pension, not temporary, in order for them to be paid adequate pensions, which is caused by the Tax Administration not taking any control and measures", the employee's letter states.
After the management change in Vodovod, four engineers and two economists left this company, the terms of office of two sector directors were dismissed without explanation, and lawsuits were brought to court. The reassignment of seven service managers was also carried out, after which six of them filed a lawsuit...
Citizens recently had the opportunity to endure a record number of days, over 10, during which the water from Mareza was not drinkable. And the Podgorica Waterworks have new surprises for users - a possible 41 percent increase in the price of water from the New Year.
Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) sent questions to the management of Vodovod, but there was no answer.
On the list of losers is another company from Podgorica - Čistoća, with a loss of 1,7 million. Purity continuously increases debt and the number of employees. The minus in 2020 was 23 thousand, in 2021 and 2022 the company was in the plus of 51 and 36 thousand euros, and last year the debt rose to 1,7 million. Since 2020, when there were 489 employees, the number of employees has been constantly increasing, so last year it reached 641 employees.
He has been acting CEO since June 2023. Dennis Hot, former member of the Movement Europe now in the Podgorica parliament, who left the party in August, which demanded from him to improve the results in Čistoca. He replaced at that place Andrija Čađenović, chairman of the DPS Board in the capital. During his mandate from June 2019 to June 2023, Čađenović increased the number of workers by 155 - from 482 to 641.
After his mandate expired, Čađenović refused to be assigned to a new job in Čistoca, and instead asked for a severance package of 35.000 euros.
The local company Sports facilities have a loss of 303 thousand euros. Aleksandar Vuckovic has been acting executive director since August 2023. This company was managed by DPS staff for over a decade, from 2013 to 2023. Vojislav Markovic, who was criticized by the new city government for having received two apartments at the expense of the citizens of Podgorica during his mandate.
The company ended 22 with a profit of 2020, but lost 303 last year. At the same time, the number of employees increased from 95 in 2020 to 109 at the end of last year.
Podgorica Markets and markets ended last year with a loss of 272 thousand euros. He is still at the head of this company Mirjana Purić from DPS. The business result was minus 2020 thousand in 249, plus three thousand in 2021, and again minus 2022 thousand in 22, and last year it reached the biggest minus of 272 thousand euros. The number of workers did not increase, but decreased from 155 in 2020 to 150 last year.
Fruits of Montenegro has five employees, and in 2022 there will be a plus of six thousand, but last year they ended with a minus of 25 thousand. He was appointed executive director in November 2023. Nikola Radulović, cadre of the Civil Movement URA. The previous director of this company was from 2012 to 2023. Vojislav Đurović, staff of DPS authorities. He received severance pay in the amount of 47.653 euros from his former company.
"Liquidity is threatened by the inefficient management of Plodovi, and the current available funds in the account are not sufficient to pay the severance pay to the former executive director, which amounts to 24 gross salaries," the new director complained at the time.
His party announced that it will review the work of this company and emphasized that it is a company that "operates quietly and 'under the radar', in order to house a handful of incompetent party henchmen."
In response to the recent local elections in Podgorica, Radunović stated that neither the capital city nor the government is helping farmers, due to ignorance and lack of interest. He was told by the Ministry of Agriculture that Plodovi has not purchased agricultural products for the last ten years, but has been operating for years based on the principle of issuing assets from which employees' salaries are provided on a monthly basis and other expenses are met. They concluded that neither the state nor the agricultural producers for whom the company was founded have any interest in it. They also pointed out that Radulović was recommended for the position of executive director by the party, not his resume, because the representative of the Capital City in the Board of Directors, as a proposer, did not submit the same.
Huge water losses
Among local companies outside of Podgorica, the biggest minuses in the balance sheets are recorded by the water supply companies. Although continuous investments are made in replacing worn-out installations, the situation changes slowly and huge water losses are recorded every year.
According to official data, water losses in Montenegro amount to around 60 percent of the total amount of water suppressed. Two-thirds of the water thus flows out through dilapidated pipes and never reaches the user, and annual losses due to water spillage amount to over 30 million euros. There are also municipalities where the percentage of losses is higher. In Pljevlja, network losses amount to 71 percent. Thus, in this city, only 100 out of 29 liters of impounded water reach consumers. The situation is similar in Herceg Novi.
After Podgorica, which is the record holder with 3,8 million losses, Vodovod i kanalizacija During the past year, Cetinje recorded a minus of 1,5 million. This city company has 64 employees, the executive director is Radovan Krunic, a graduate engineer in chemical technology, in this position from July 2022. He was appointed to this position after the Social Democratic Party (SDP) took power in Pretonia.
The business result does not include the debt of Cetinje Vodovod to the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG), which amounts to 12,5 million euros! The reason for this multi-year debt is the constant operation of the pumps that bring water to Cetinje from the municipality of Bar. Monthly electricity bills are around 100 thousand euros, which are not settled regularly. Due to debt reduction, the citizens of Cetinje are paying three times more for water from this year - before 2024, water cost 43 cents per cubic meter, and from this year on, it is calculated at a price of 1,44 euros.
Budva Waterworks and Sewerage has three times more employees than Cetinje Waterworks - 240. Jasna Dokić was the executive director of this company from March 2021 until the end of 2023. She was second on the list for local elections of the list Budva Our City - Nikola Jovanović, and now she is the vice-president of the Municipality of Budva, close to the imprisoned president of the metropolis of tourism Milo Božović, a cadre of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD). In March last year, he was elected acting director of Budva Waterworks Mladen Lakcevic, also a close associate of Božović. The net business result of this company in 2022 was in the plus of 900 thousand euros, but last year they ended in the minus of one million euros.
The water supply of Bistrica in Bijelo Polje had a loss of 270 thousand last year, and in 2022 the loss was 118 thousand. DPS personnel were at the head of this company for over 30 years Milan Bulatović. He was appointed to his place in May last year Esad Mahmutovic from SDP.
Bulatović, after managing this company for ten years, was not satisfied with the dismissal, so he sued Vodovod and the municipality because he was dismissed three months before the end of his mandate. He asked for a compensation of 55 thousand. The dispute is still in court. Bulatović also asked for damages to be determined because he allegedly did not take annual leave for 12 years - from 2008 to 2020.
He is the President of the Board of Directors of Bistrica Vladan Kovačević, DPS cadre, which, together with BS, Social Democrats (SD) and SDP, governs this municipality. Kovačević was the president of the Board of Directors of Komunalno Lim in Bijelo Polje until February 2023, and is now employed by that company. He is together with his party colleague in April this year Sakibom Cindrakom interfered with the TV Vijesti journalist Alisa Hajdarpašić in reporting on the police search of the house of an arrested official of the National Security Agency (ANB) Zoran Lazović.
Ulcinj Water Supply and Sewerage has 118 employees, it is constantly in the red, which amounted to 2016 thousand in 632. However, last year the deficit was reduced to 259 thousand euros. He has been the executive director since February last year The verse of Zaga from the Democratic Party Fatmira Đeka. He is the President of the Board of Directors Dritan Pulti, until Force.
Rožaje water supply and sewerage ended last year with a loss of 94 thousand euros, and in 2020 the loss was 83 thousand. The CEO is Senad Mujevic since the beginning of 2019. He is a member of the Main Board of the Bosniak Party, which is in power in Rožaj, as well as the president of the board of directors Harun Kurbardović. Despite the constant minus, the number of workers increased from 32 in 2016 to 53 last year.
The water supply in Pljevlja had a minus of 91 thousand last year, it has been operating with losses since 2010, with the exception of 2021 when it had a plus of 20 thousand euros. The "successes" of this company were also contributed by Milan Lekic, from Mandić's NSD, who recently resigned from the position of President of the Board of Directors of Rudnik Uglja due to the fact that he crashed his official car under the influence of alcohol. He was the director of Pljeval Waterworks until February 2017, when he terminated his contract by mutual agreement with a severance payment of eight thousand euros.
His party colleague Biljana Đondović was the executive director of the city Waterworks from June of last year until January of this year, when she resigned. Upon the announcement of her resignation from the Municipality of Pljevlja, which is managed by the NSD, Democrats, PES and the Socialist People's Party (SNP), they commented that out of 129 workers employed in the plant, only 36 workers, or only 28 percent, were employed, while the rest were employed in the administration. He was elected acting director of the Waterworks in January of this year Mladen Jaćimović, who before his appointment was the head of the protection service. He graduated from the Higher Police Academy in Belgrade and holds the rank of senior police officer. He is the president of the board of directors Goran Marić from the Democrats.
Andrijevički Vodovod and sewerage has 90 thousand minuses, that's why in April of this year they increased water prices by 30 percent. He was elected acting director in February 2023 Miloš Mijović. This company operated with a positive result until 2022, but ended last year with a loss of 90. The number of employees is increasing year by year, in 2018 there were eight employees, and last year there were 36. DPS lost power in Andrijevica in the 2020 local elections, after nine years of rule. He has held the position of President of the Municipality since then Željko Ćulafić from SNP. After the change of government Željko Novović, the acting director of the Andrijevic local company in 2021, handed nine dismissals to people who were employed indefinitely in the position of security guard.
And utility companies in the red
After the water supply, utility companies are the biggest losers with an even larger number of employees. Thus, in Podgorica's Čistoca, which has a minus of 1,7 million, the number of employees is 641.
Komunalno Budva also recorded a loss of close to a million euros last year - 916 thousand. Until 2020, this company was in the red, but at the end of that year, a negative record was recorded - 1,3 million minus.
At the end of 2020, the board of directors of Komunalno in the tourism capital of the company dismissed the acting director Maja Miljanic, a member of DPS, and appointed to that position Predrag Ivanovic from NSD.
Until then, Predrag Ivanović was the president of the Bečići Local Community. Numerous reports were filed against him due to violence, and alleged fraud and racketeering. In March 2023, Ivanovic was arrested by Budva police after he refused to submit to a breathalyzer test, disparaging a police officer. But he was not responsible for that, when it comes to the function.
During Ivanović's mandate, the number of employees increased by 10 percent, from 166 in 2020 to 183 last year. He is the president of the Board of Directors of this company Rasko Radulović, a member of one of the new factions of the former DF in this city led by Nikola Jovanović.
Municipal Lim Bijelo Polje has 149 employees and a debt that has been increasing rapidly since 2020, when it was 13 thousand, and last year it amounted to 365 thousand. The executive director, since March last year, is Muradif Grbović, a member of the Main Board of the Bosniak Party, one of the ruling parties in the area. Zanat worked earlier as the executive director of the state company Montecargo from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure, this company was in a constant deficit, which in 2018 reached two and a half million. But that was not an obstacle for the new function.
Communal in Berane has 143 employees, at the end of 2022 a member of the ruling Democrats was elected as the executive director. Milan Lekic. In 2021, the deficit was only nine thousand, but in 2022 it would grow to 237 thousand, and last year to 348 thousand euros.
Cetinjsko Komunalno had 65 employees last year, which is less than in 2021 when there were 77. The debt from 657 thousand in 2020 was reduced to 133 thousand last year. It is one of the rare examples where both debts and the number of employees were reduced at the same time. The CEO is Boško Dragutinović.
Another good example where the change of management did not lead to an increase in debts and workers is Komunalno in Pljevlje. Radivoje Bujišić is, from 2021, the executive director of this company, which the year before he took over had 48 employees and a debt of 90.000 euros. Last year, the number of workers was significantly reduced, to 32, and the debt was reduced to 2022 in 18. However, during the last year the deficit increased to 68 thousand.
The utility company Gusinje has 20 employees and a debt of 24 thousand. Director Edin Mulić is from the Bosniak party, which governs this city.
Cadre in Plav of the ruling SD Ervin Tošić he is the director of Communal Activities in that place. The company has 48 employees and a deficit of 13 thousand euros. The communal activities of Petnjica have a minus of five thousand. He is the director Mithad Cikotić, a member of DPS, which is one of the ruling parties in this local self-government.
Komunalno Rožaje has 82 employees and a debt of 94 thousand. The executive director of this company, since 2018, is My name is Dacic, formerly a member of the Bosniak Party in the local parliament.
In the latest report of the European Commission, one of the significant segments of criticism refers to employment in the public administration. From Brussels, they insist on the establishment of more transparent employment procedures based on merit and competence, and not on party awards. But hardly anyone here hears what they are looking for from Brussels.
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