Armchairs for Gredic, thousands of euros for the Board?

If the Government of Montenegro gives its consent, the executive director of the Montenegrin Electricity Market Operator (COTEE) will be Mersudin Gredić, and the members of the Board of Directors of that state-owned company - Maksim Vučinić, Đorđije Ostojić and Nermin Škretović - will receive up to three times higher remuneration.

"Vijesti" sources claim that these two proposals were submitted to the competent Ministry of Energy and Mining, headed by Admir Šahmanović, on Tuesday.

The decision to appoint Gredić was made, according to the editorial office's information, on Monday, and in the first days of July, a document entitled "Compensation Policy for Work in the Board of Directors of the Montenegrin Electricity Market Operator" was drawn up.

This document stipulates that Vučinić (former DF) will receive at least 2.200 euros in future compensation instead of the previous 700, and Ostojić (PES) and Škretović (BS) will receive more than 1.400 euros.

The three of them, according to a document obtained by "Vijesti", will be entitled to official cars or paid fuel for private, representational, official phones, etc.

In addition to the Government, the costs for the work of the three-member Board of Directors must also be approved by the regulator - the Regulatory Agency for Energy and Regulated Utilities (REGAGEN).

Maksim Vučnić did not answer questions regarding the decision to appoint Gredić, nor about the document that provides for an increase in compensation and other benefits for him, Ostojić, and Škretović.

"Vijesti" expects the position of Admir Šahmanović's department on the same questions.

New earnings policy

The current Decision on the amount of remuneration for members of the Board of Directors of COTEE stipulates that the president is entitled to half of the average salary of employees in that company in the previous year for his work in that body. Members are entitled to 40 percent of the average salary of employees in that company in the previous year, which, according to data from the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption in the previous year, amounted to slightly more than 700 euros. This decision does not include the costs of using a company car, nor the payment of fuel for private cars, nor the purchase of company mobile phones.

The Government's "Remuneration Policy" states that the president and members of the Board of Directors are entitled to a fixed amount based on engagement and work, as well as expenses.

"The Chairman of the Board of Directors, if he is professionally employed at COTEE, is entitled to a fixed monthly fee of 1,85 average earnings at COTEE in the month preceding the month for which the calculation is made. The Chairman of the Board of Directors who is not professionally employed at COTEE is entitled to a fixed monthly fee of 1,5 average earnings at COTEE in the month preceding the month for which the calculation is made. A member of the Board of Directors is entitled to a fixed monthly fee of one average earnings at COTEE in the month preceding the month for which the calculation is made," states the document, obtained by "Vijesti".

It is specified that "the fixed fee reflects the expertise, competence, organizational and legal responsibility for managing the affairs of COTEE."

"The purpose of determining a fixed fee is to retain individuals with a high level of knowledge, skills, experience and responsibility for managing the business," the document emphasized.

COTEE is a company - intermediary in the electricity trade in Montenegro.

The company has 19 employees, including the executive director, and according to the systematization act, nine of them should have completed studies in electrical engineering, six in economics, and two in law. The average salary in the company is between 1.500 and 1.600 euros.

The Gredic case

Gredić had been at the helm of COTEE since October 2023, but in April this year the Labor Inspectorate determined that he had been appointed illegally, without a competition. The Board of Directors dismissed him and appointed him as acting director. In mid-June, a competition was announced for the executive director of the state-owned energy company, and in addition to Gredić, the candidates were Jelena Marković, a long-time employee of COTEE, former Minister of Capital Investments Mladen Bojanić, whose portfolio included the control of the state-owned company, as well as Adis Balota, a university professor, doctor of electrical engineering and former assistant minister for information technology.

During the competition, several employees at COTEE stated that they had suffered or were suffering from mobbing from Gredić.

One of these reports has been formalized and has been with the Agency for Peaceful Dispute Resolution since April, and the Center for Women's Rights (CŽP) has also been contacted by other employees from COTEE, as well as former employees of the Parliament of Montenegro, who claim that they were targeted by Gredić at the time he was the Deputy Secretary General in the parliament.

He said at the time that he "does his job expertly, professionally and responsibly", and that the current process being conducted against him is actually "a textbook example of the abuse of the right to protection from mobbing, for the sake of maintaining certain positions that individuals think belong to them for life."

Yesterday, Bojanić announced on his X network profile that the COTEE Board of Directors had re-elected Gredić as the executive director of that energy company.

He wrote that Gredić was "by far the worst candidate in the competition."

"The decision of the COTEA Board of Directors (chairman Maksim Vučinić (ZBCG), Đorđije Živković (PES) and Nermin Škretović - BS) to elect Mersudin Gredić (BS), by far the worst candidate in the competition, as executive director is their self-destruction. First, Mersudin does not meet the requirements of the competition. Neither hiding the decision and documents, nor the confirmation of the NGO from Rožaje about his knowledge of the English language, nor the attempt to rush the Government into giving its consent can help him. Second, the Government must not and will not give its consent to his appointment. The public anger is too great due to the serious accusations of his previous behavior and mobbing of employees. The smartest thing for them is to resign immediately. The promised and significant increase in fees for membership in the Board of Directors in exchange for electing Mersudin is a small price to pay for the degradation of personal integrity. And all in vain, Mersudin will not pass, and they will forever be remembered for their shameful trade," Bojanić said.

According to unofficial information, Bojanić, as well as Balota and Marković, will appeal the decision to appoint Gredić as director.