The announced dismissal of two members of the Board of Directors of the municipal company Vodovod, initiated by representatives of the Democrats and the Europe Now Movement (PES), has caused disagreements among coalition partners in Pljevlja, but, at least for now, will not threaten the survival of the government in the northernmost Montenegrin city.
This was assessed by the interlocutors, who asked "Vijesti" whether there is a crisis within the ruling coalition after the Committee for Election and Appointment of the Pljevlja Municipal Assembly did not accept the decision to vote on the dismissal of two members of the Board of Directors of Vodovod at the session held on Tuesday. Radovan Andjelic i Dejan Cavic.
Anđelić was elected to the Board of Directors at the proposal of the Democrats, and Čavić at the proposal of the PES. Instead of them, the Democrats proposed Ratka Potparu, a PES Dejan Jovanovic.
After the proposal to vote on the removal was not accepted, representatives of the Democrats and PES left the Committee session.
President of the Board of Directors (BOD) of the municipal company Vodovod Goran Marić (Democrats), launched an initiative to remove two members of the Board of Directors in front of the founders, which caused strong opposition from some employees in that collective and misunderstanding among coalition partners, primarily New Serbian Democracy, the strongest party in the ruling coalition.
Marić said that he initiated the replacement of members of the Board of Directors in order to improve operations and prevent waste of resources and inefficiency.
"One of the Board members is being dismissed by mutual agreement, because due to his work engagement in another city he is unable to attend the sessions and that is something we will agree on without any dispute. For the other member, I proposed dismissal in accordance with the authorizations from the Statute, due to continuous initiatives towards wasting money with a very questionable legal basis, such as the initiative for a bonus on the executive director's salary in advance of 30 percent, every month until the end of the term," Marić explained the proposal.
He said he was surprised by the fact that employee representatives on the Board of Directors were giving support and legitimacy to wastefulness.
"It remains unclear how workers support non-domestic expenses in the form of 'using a private vehicle for official purposes', an item that costs the company several thousand on a monthly basis. Obviously, this item is taken literally, and as a responsible man, I do not want to participate, vote and sign an illegal and non-domestic business," said Marić.
The workers said that "the political games are over their heads and the workers are over their backs, and that this is the last straw in a full glass of water, after which, if the situation does not stabilize, there will be a work stoppage in the shortest possible time."
They ask the leaders of the Democrats and PES why they are destroying the well-laid foundations now that they have finally stepped on the green branch, believing that all this is being done to remove the CEO of Vodovod. Mladen Jaćimović.
President of the Municipal Committee of the Democrats in Pljevlja Nikola Rovčanin He appealed for respect for democratic principles and the calming of unnecessary tensions.
"I believe that tension has risen to an extent that is disproportionate to the real state of affairs, in fact, "political dust" has risen unnecessarily, because these are common democratic practices. As a political entity that was given political responsibility for Vodovod Pljevlja under the coalition agreement, by appointing some members of the management body in front of the founders, we have given a chance to professionalize management, we have also made that step forward, and it is rare in local self-government for an entity to be practically exempted from any political activity in the department that has been assigned to it. And now even that is not enough, it is necessary to politically erase every trace. That is not realistic," Rovčanin told "Vijesti".
He reiterated that the goal of the request of the President of the Board of Directors of Vodovod is to achieve the rotation of one member who was objectively prevented from attending more than half of the meetings held, and colleagues from PES who want to carry out a personnel rotation of one position on the Board of Directors belonging to their councilor club.
"This is therefore a common democratic procedure that is known in previous parliamentary practice and we have never caused problems for coalition partners on this occasion. I therefore expect coalition partners to respect political principles and democratic practice. In the previous period, we had different views on the reports of certain institutions or the prices of certain utility services on objective grounds, but we have never entered into the personnel solutions of other entities, although many of them are not to our political measure. It would not be good to violate principles, because one unprincipledness always paves the way for another and so on indefinitely, which can lead to a serious crisis of power. And no one needs that, least of all the citizens of Pljevlja. We respect the members of the Board of Directors appointed by the workers, as well as all the employees of this company. Their work, effort and effort that they invest every day deserve everyone's respect and appreciation. Also, there were allegations about the removal of the director, endangering workers, business..., which is absolutely not true, there is no such intention, I did not recognize it, nor could anyone have done it, but it is a common, simple rotation "Two members of the Board of Directors legitimately and legally," said Rovčanin.
Head of the Nova Councilors' Club and the Municipal Assembly Election and Appointment Committee Bozidar Jelovac claims that there are no disagreements among the coalition partners, but that they are only requesting compliance with the procedure for removing members of the Board of Directors.
According to the Water Company Statute, Article 31 states that the initiative for the dismissal of members of the Board of Directors is submitted to the competent Secretariat, and the Secretary prepares a proposal and submits it to the Mayor, who, after signing, forwards it to the Selection Committee for Appointment. In this case, the proposal came directly to us. On the first day, a proposal for the dismissal of Čavić and Anđelić was received, and on the second day, an initiative from three members of the Board of Directors requesting the dismissal of Goran Marić arrived. We did not put either initiative on the agenda, because the procedure was not followed," said Jelovac.
He stressed that he does not accept direct communist courts where "people will be shot and then the verdict will be written later."
"I want to see people's guilt so that I can raise my hand and vote for their dismissal. No one can be dismissed without guilt. Maybe some who were in the DPS are used to doing that. The procedure must be followed. The Selection and Appointment Committee, when the government was dismissed in Pljevlja in 2023, refused to dismiss the DPS members in the Day Center because the proposal did not state what their guilt was," Jelovac said.
He points out that according to his information, nothing wrong has been done in the company and that the company is making progress.
"We respect the coalition agreement, but before that, the law should be respected. If these people are guilty, the secretary will determine their guilt. If there is no guilt and we vote for their dismissal, we run the risk of someone suing us, which would expose the Municipality to unnecessary costs. I think that state and local institutions should be stronger than party decisions," said Jelovac.
Head of the PES Parliamentary Group Radoman Andesilić He said that there were no major disagreements, but he admitted that the events surrounding Vodovod had shaken the coalition's trust and functioning.
He said that they proposed the removal of their representative on the Board of Directors of Vodovod because he proposed an increase in the executive director's salary at a time when the company owes around three million euros on various grounds, which goes against their political beliefs.
He also claims that the Board discussed a proposed decision to dismiss two members of the Board of Directors of Vodovod, which was signed by the Mayor of the Municipality. Dario Vranes and not Goran Marić as he presents himself to the public, which is proof that the procedure was followed.
"No one set out to overthrow the executive director, I even think he is doing his job well, but our representative could not propose something that contradicts our political commitments," said Andesilić.
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