Mitrović: Otoka is an example of corruption

The executive director of the NGO "Breznica" Milorad Mitrović claims that the Municipality of Bjelopost allowed corruption in the locality of Patkova Otok, in the settlement of Loznice near Bijelo Polje.

Although the development of land for sports fields on Patkova Island near Bijelo Polje, the construction of which has been delayed for years, cost 82.000 euros, the Municipality allowed that location to be turned into a landfill for construction and communal waste.

Mitrović points out that Oština was obliged to pay the amount of 82 euros to a private investor without a tender after a dispute in the Commercial Court for the work done on the design and landscaping of the terrain, while the Municipality claims that there was no forced or other collection.

"Anyway, if she didn't pay, the municipality will have to pay it," said Mitrović.

According to the final judgment of the Commercial Court in Bijelo Polje in 2013, which "Vijesti" had access to, the private company "LUKA BS" sued the Municipality for the work performed and received compensation in the amount of 82 euros. It is precisely on this ground that is the subject of the court dispute that the Municipality gave consent for the disposal of construction and communal waste, the surface of which is almost invisible.

At that time, the court made a decision to collect the claims of DOO "LUKA BS" in the amount of 82.233 euros, with legal interest and court costs in the amount of 1.377 euros. From the explanation of the verdict, it can be seen that "LUKA BS", which from June 2012 to September allegedly excavated land for the construction of a football field and sports training grounds, and that due to an unpaid debt, it sued the Municipality for collection of works.

"The client of this work was not the Municipality, but JKP Lim, which hired the company "LUKA BS" to carry out the aforementioned works, and for this purpose, the utility company provided it with oil, as stated in the judgment. Therefore, it is not clear why the Municipality is being sued and why funds are being demanded from it," Mitrović said.

He said that the company is owned by the father of one of the municipal officials, which leads to suspicion that corrupt acts were committed.

The company is formally managed by Milica Sošić, the wife of Dragan Sošić, whose son Ljubomir Sošić is the director of the Property Directorate.

Mitrović points out that the entire work of contracting these works was done without a public tender, which is illegal.

"Instead, a work contract was concluded, which left the contractor with the possibility to issue an invoice in the amount he wants after the work is completed," Mitrović said.

In the verdict, it is written that after the completion of those works, the Municipality formed a commission from the employees of the Municipality, Zaim Bošnjak and Veselin Janković, who calculated the square footage of the excavation in the amount of 16.851,5 cubic meters.

Mitrović claims that there was no excavation in that area, but only the leveling of valleys and the creation of a plateau.

As stated in the verdict, expert witness Milan Raičević determined that the area was in the form of a cove, which had to be filled with earth from the excavation of the second part of the plateau, which was higher than the expected elevation of the plateau," reads the opinion of expert witness Raičević.

It is added that "the performance of those works should have been carried out so that the amount of excavation was equal to the amount of the required embankment".

"If, according to the verdict, the Municipality has given or owes so much money to the citizens, the question arises of how much it will cost the citizens of Bijelo Polje to remove that waste, which is piling up day by day," points out Mitrović.

Even after the delivered verdict, in response to the question regarding the Municipality's debt to the company "LUKA BS", the director of the Directorate for Investments of the Bjelopolje Municipality, Milanka Minić, writes that the Municipality had neither payments nor forced collections on the basis of that work to the mentioned company.

"The DUP for that settlement, which was adopted in 2015, planned the construction of a sports and recreational complex, and the municipality initiated activities in that direction, primarily planning the construction of an auxiliary football field with accompanying facilities," said Minic, adding that The Ministry recently prescribed the Urban Planning and Technical Conditions for the development of project documentation for sports fields with accompanying contents. The municipality of Bijelo Polje, he reminded, has announced a tender for the construction of a coastal fortification with terrain drainage, and the realization of that project is still in the initial phase, due to the specificity of the land structure and the dilemma of experts in the hydro profession, which type of coastal fortification should be installed.

Sošić's son is director of the Property Directorate, but he claims that there is no conflict of interest

Dragan Sošić said that he is just an employee of the company, which is run by his wife, Milica. He pointed out that he worked at the mentioned location for about two years and finished the job. Regarding why he was not paid for his work, for which the Municipality was sued, Sošić said that the Municipality owes him money and is delaying payment because it is in crisis.

"They keep telling me it's a crisis, wait a little longer, we'll pay, and all that. They will pay, they have to pay, and I hope that it will be within a reasonable time frame, which will not lead to the fact that I have to forcibly collect my claims", said Sošić.

Regarding why the work was not contracted through a tender, Sošić said that he was neither professional nor competent to speak about it and that he was hired by the then secretary of the Directorate for Investments Dejan Luković and the chief administrator Radovan Obradović.

He points out that there was no conflict of interest, that his son is the Director of the Directorate, because he did work for the Municipality in several locations even when he was not at that place.