The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue did not keep records of how and when the minister was Naida Nišić used an official vehicle from the time she was elected to office, until June of this year.
From that department, they claim that they do not have travel orders for an official vehicle of the brand "audi A6" with registration number PG CG 022, whose fuel card Zamo Balić and it says "minister", even though they are obliged to do so by the Law on State Property and the Government Regulation on the conditions for the use of means of transport owned by Montenegro.
This results from the solution to the request for free access to information (FII), which "Vijesti" sent to the Ministry through the application of the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) at the beginning of July.
In the request, "Vijesti" asked for a copy of all acts containing data on per diems and representation for Minister Nišić and all her companions in the official vehicle with license plates PG CG 022 for the months of November and December 2023, as well as January, February, March, April. and May 2024, after the official vehicle and the then Minister of Labor and Social Welfare were photographed in Albania on May 12.
"Thus, considering the request in question, it was determined that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue is not in possession of the requested information, i.e. this public law body does not have the data requested in the request for the reason that no records are kept for the data in question according to the official vehicle", it is written in to the solution submitted to the list.
The Regulation on the conditions and manner of using vehicles owned by Montenegro defines that for the use of official and other vehicles, the head of the authority or another authorized person issues an order for the use of a vehicle, i.e. a travel order, for the purpose of performing a specific task or as a monthly order.
In addition, an order is issued to control the use of official and other vehicles and fuel consumption, i.e. control form.
The regulation specifies that the orders are then filled out in two copies and are valid until the completion of the official or other task for which they were issued, and at the latest until the end of the current month.
"After the official work has been completed, i.e. at the end of the month for which they were issued, the orders are concluded with the certification and signature of the head of the authority, i.e. the authorized person", it is stated in that Government document.
The information that "Vijesti" received from MANS shows that the Audi A6 3.0 V6 TDI Quattro, with which Nišić was seen in Albania, was commissioned by Balić, who was hired by the Ministry under a work contract. Balić also has the right to use a card for the purchase and use of fuel with the name "minister" - PG CG 022.
On Sunday, May 12, a reader of the paper submitted to the editorial office photos of an official vehicle with license plates PG CG 022 in Albania and at the Božaj border crossing between Montenegro and that country, and the then minister of labor and social welfare, Nišić, was in the car.
The government decree defines that ministers also have the right to permanent use of an official vehicle, with or without a driver.
"Vijesti" certainly contacted Nišić, who did not want to answer whether she was in Albania officially or privately that weekend. She then instructed the journalist to send an official inquiry to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare under the Law on Free Access to Information.
On the same day, a request for SPI was sent to the Ministry, and on May 24, after asking the head of the Service for Free Access to Information and Communication with Citizens of the then Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Razmenka Kalić, when she could get the requested documentation, she received the answer that the decision would be delivered "during next week”.
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However, the decision was not delivered "during the next week", and after several attempts and discussions with Ministry officials, "Vijesti" submitted the same request on July 4 through the MANS application.
The Ministry did not even respond to MANS's request within the legal deadline, so on August 22, that non-governmental organization filed a complaint against the administration's silence to the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information (AZLP).
On September 19, AZLP issued a decision ordering the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Dialogue (former Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare) to issue a decision on the request in question, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the second instance decision.
"Acting on the order of the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information, and in the execution of its decision, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue established that the requested information is not in its possession, thus meeting the conditions for the application of Article 30 paragraph 1 and 5 of the Law on Free Access to Information," the decision reads.
Article 30 of the Law on Free Access to Information stipulates that, except in the case referred to in Article 22 of this law, the authority decides with a decision allowing access to the requested information or part of it or rejecting the request (paragraph 1), while the decision rejects the request for access to information contains a detailed explanation of the reasons why access to the requested information is not allowed (paragraph 5)", it is stated.
Individual ministries publish data on travel expenses at the beginning of the previous month on their official websites.
MANS told "Vijesta" that proactive publication of information is one of the most effective institutes for exercising the right to free access to information held by state institutions.
"Data on how money from the budget is spent is something that deserves to be available as information to citizens at all times. Proactive publication of information is also an indicator of the political will to achieve full transparency of the government's work, and thus significantly reduce the space for corruption and other violations of the law," said the NGO.
Who drives which vehicle of the Ministry of Labour
In addition to the Audi, the department headed by Nišić owns six more official cars.
Two independent officers are longer "škodu rapid" (PG CG 949) or "reno koleus" (PG CG 589), while the state secretary is responsible for reno megan (PG CG 970).
A senior officer in the Ministry assigned a "Toyota Auris" (PG CG E65), while a person engaged under the work contract takes care of the car "Reno Klio" (PG CG 348).
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