The company "Čelebić City" announced that it will most likely not extend the lease agreement with the state for the facility in Donja Gorica, where around 140 students are currently housed.
The director of that company Milena Brajović She told "Vijesti" that the company had offered the state terms under which it would sell the building, but that it was not worth it for them to continue renting their building, especially not at the price they are currently paying. She said, however, that they would not endanger the students in any way, regardless of the damage they are already suffering.
On the other hand, the executive branch unofficially claims that they have offered the company a continuation of the lease agreement, but that they have not yet received an official response...
The contract with the state is expiring soon - it was signed in November for three months, but the two parties probably agreed that holiday time is not counted...
The Government of Montenegro, at a telephone meeting in mid-November last year, gave its consent to lease a facility of more than 4.200 square meters in Donja Gorica owned by the company "Čelebić", for the needs of a student dormitory.
Previously, on October 21st, a contract was signed to purchase the facility, worth 6,3 million euros, but it was terminated by mutual agreement after the Office of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests warned the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation. Andjelu Jakšić Stojanović that the purchase of a facility for state needs is not subject to the Public Procurement Law. The Office of the Protector responded to the Ministry of Education after Jakšić Stojanović submitted the contract with the company “Čelebić City” for their opinion.
Purchase offer submitted
Brajović told "Vijesti" that an offer to purchase the facility was submitted to the Property Administration.
“In addition to the Voco hotel, Čelebić City also owns the Verde hotel. We offered it in a public tender for the needs of the Public Institution 'Dom učenika i studenata' Podgorica, given that it met all the required conditions. After the procedure was completed, we signed a purchase agreement and handed over the facility to the management of the Public Institution 'Dom učenika i studenata' Podgorica. In the meantime, the contract was terminated with the explanation that a new purchase procedure would be conducted by the State Property Administration. We submitted an official purchase offer to the same, which procedure is ongoing. Given that the facility had been taken over and mostly occupied, we ceded it under a lease agreement for a period of three months and at prices below market rates,” Brajović told Vijesti.
She said that if the State Property Administration "for any reason does not purchase the property in question, we are not interested in extending the lease agreement, especially not under the conditions that were in effect in the previous three months."
As a socially responsible company, we will make every effort to ensure that students are not endangered in any way, regardless of the damage we are already suffering.
The State Property Administration, which in November was tasked with finding a permanent solution for student accommodation during the lease period, has not responded to the editorial team's questions for almost a month, despite several urgent requests.
A source from the Government of Montenegro claims that the state has offered the company "Čelebić City" to continue cooperation through a lease agreement, but that they are waiting for a response. He explains that in recent months no other facility has been found for purchase or lease that would meet the requirements for student accommodation.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MESI) claims that they have not yet received official information regarding student accommodation.
"We believe that the body responsible for these activities will soon complete the procedure, to the satisfaction, above all, of the students," replied Anđela Jakšić Stojanović's department.
What preceded
The Government of Montenegro, at a telephone meeting in mid-November last year, gave its consent to lease a facility in Donja Gorica owned by the company "Čelebić" for the needs of a student dormitory.
It was previously announced at the Government session that the offered monthly rental price was six euros per square meter, or 30.564 euros including value added tax (VAT) per month, which for the then planned two months amounts to a total of 61.129 euros including VAT.
After a months-long tender procedure, Minister of Education Jakšić Stojanović and Executive Director of "Čelebić City" Brajović first signed a contract worth 6,3 million euros in October, which formalized the purchase of a facility of more than 4.200 square meters in Donja Gorica for student accommodation.
"Vijesti" previously reported that Jakšić Stojanović contacted the office of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro that day, seeking an opinion.
"In his opinion, the Ombudsman, among other things, stated that the purchase of the home should have been carried out by the department responsible for state property and that this legal transaction was exempt from the Public Procurement Law, so he indicated to the Ministry of Education that it was obliged to terminate the contract," a source previously told "Vijesti".
Two weeks later, on November 5, the contract was terminated by mutual consent, and the company “Čelebić” waived its right to appeal.
Article 14 of the Public Procurement Law provides that this regulation does not apply to “the purchase or lease of land, buildings or other immovable property, as well as rights relating to them”.
According to data from the electronic public procurement system (CeJN), the estimated value of the public procurement announced this summer was almost three million euros, with the note that this is a "value determined for 2024."
"...If the value of the facility exceeds the subject value due to its size and capacity, the bid will not be rejected, but will be forwarded to the Government and the Ministry of Finance for further decision-making, on the possible assumption of obligations to provide additional funds in the following budget years," the public procurement description from July 19th states.
Only the company "Čelebić", owned by Tomislav Čelebić, who, along with the former head of state Milo Đukanović and the professor Dragan K. Vukčević, founder of the private University of Donja Gorica, in the immediate vicinity of which is located the facility for which the lease is allegedly planned to be continued.
The terminated contract with the company "Čelebić City" was previously criticized by civic activists Aleksandar Dragićević, but also “Fidelity consulting” on their Facebook profiles. Dragićević claimed that “the Government as a collective body is not subject to criminal liability, so in this way they found a space to do someone a favor and that no one can ever be held accountable”, while “Fidelity consulting” stated that “a square meter in the Donja Gorica student dormitory will be paid over 2.300 euros”.
Leader of the Movement for Change (PzP) Nebojsa Medojevic announced in December that he had given a statement to the Special Police Department (SPO) and shared with them "all knowledge regarding the corrupt actions of the Government in the attempted sale of the hotel from the company 'Čelebić City'".
In mid-February last year, the government considered the first information from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation regarding the lack of space in dormitories for accommodating students in Podgorica, and in mid-April gave the green light for renting or purchasing the facility.
The government did this, it was announced earlier, on the proposal of the Interdepartmental Working Group, which, in addition to representatives of the MPNI, also included representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, the Administration for Capital Projects and the Administration for State Property.
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