The Association of Pensioners Sloga from Pljevlja has asked the authorities in the state to abolish the Pensioners' Union of Montenegro, and the inspectorate to check their operations in the previous period due to suspicion of numerous illegalities.
They are asking the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO) to treat all pensioners equally and stop favoring some of them.
The Sloga Association was formed in 2022 by former members of the Pensioners' Association who were dissatisfied with the work of the leadership. They currently have around 450 members.
President of the Pensioners' Association Sloga Čabarkapa is standing claims that the Pljevlja Pensioners' Association illegally appropriated all the common premises of pensioners, namely the Pensioners' Club, business premises and one apartment they rent out.
"Isn't it absurd that this Association has so much space, while our Association pays a rent of 220 euros for the space. We have a small amount of income from membership fees and the rest is donated by members. It has been forgotten that the aforementioned spaces were created by pensioners from Pljevlja, but today, as is known, a good part of them do not have access. This is the property of all of us because for years, due to inertia and without our consent, we have been denied money based on membership fees for the Pensioners' Association. This practice has recently been discontinued because new pensioners who join our Association receive an application form. However, there is discrimination here too, because application forms are not requested from the Pensioners' Associations that are members of the Alliance. In one sentence, our Association has been neglected, disenfranchised and ignored," Čabarkapa told "Vijesti".
She said that they had tried several times to resolve their status, through the Municipality and the Pension Fund, but had failed.
"We would be happy if we could get satisfactory business space, but all our searches have ended unsuccessfully, unfortunately, because the attitude of the authorities in the Municipality and other bodies is extremely incorrect and as far as we can see, someone is hindering our work. There are so many office and business spaces in Pljevlja, which are practically given away for services, while we cannot get even the most ordinary one of about fifteen square meters. The saddest thing is that we cannot even get the pension space that is due to us, and there are some at our disposal," said Čabarkapa.
He believes that the financial situation of the most vulnerable part of pensioners could be improved if the funds from membership fees and other donations, which amount to about one million euros annually, were spent rationally and economically.
"One of the main causes of this situation is the existence of the Union of Pensioners' Associations of Montenegro. Of the aforementioned amount, a large part of the money is allocated for the remuneration of the president of the Union and the administration, which is very cumbersome, as well as for other benefits, all at the expense of the most vulnerable members," said the president of the Union of Pensioners' Associations, Stoja Čabarkapa.
She also said that their Association is not allowed to join the Union of Pensioners of Montenegro.
Čabarkapa and other members of the Association, whom the "Vijesti" reporter spoke with, also said that the 600.000 euros allocated to the Pljevlja Pensioners' Association for the construction of apartments should be checked.
"The municipality gave the location for free and exempted the investor from paying utility bills. At the beginning of 2018, 300.000 was paid into the account of the Pljevlja Pensioners' Association, of which 175.000 was paid to the Solidarity Housing Fund. Part of the money disappeared in Atlas Bank after. The Pension and Retirement Fund did not respond to its request, although appeals were made several times," Čabarkapa pointed out.
"We are requesting that the operations of the Pensioners' Association be controlled and we propose that the Association be abolished, due to the aforementioned. That the financial operations of municipal Pensioners' Associations be controlled, especially in Pljevlja," said Čabarkapa.
She said that she had also filed criminal charges against the Pljevlja Pensioners' Association due to the aforementioned irregularities in its work, but that the prosecutor's office had rejected some of them.
President of the Pensioners' Association of Pljevlja Vukadin Damjanović He did not want to comment on the claims made by Sloga members about the work of their association.
"Let them deal with their own Association, not the Pljevlja Pensioners' Association," said Damjanović.
Bonus video:
