Acting Secretary of the Secretariat for Financial Affairs and Budget Analysis of the Capital City Balša Spadijer, is currently the first-ranked candidate in the competition for that position for a full term, but the question is whether it will remain that way because he has allegedly lost the support of his Movement for Podgorica (PzPG) - "Vijesti" has learned.
According to unofficial information, Špadijer allegedly had 45 points on the written part of the test, while his opponent Stanka Raković, long-time manager of the Capital City treasury, 41 points.
"An interview with the mayor should be organized soon." Saša Mujović (which appoints the secretary), after which the conditions are met for a decision to be made on this vacancy and for the Capital City to receive a secretary of that Secretariat with a full mandate after many years, because the acting position has been in place since the time of former mayor Olivera Injac," it was unofficially told "Vijesti".
However, editorial sources from the Podgorica ruling majority claim that the epilogue of this competition could be a surprise, considering that both candidates - Špadijer officially and Raković unofficially - received support from the Movement for Podgorica, to which the leading position in that secretariat belongs based on post-election agreements.
They also question the fact that Raković is a long-time employee of that secretariat, whose family, they claim, was provided with several benefits by the former government led by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) over the years, including resolving the housing issue.
Neither Špadijer nor Raković wanted to answer the editorial team's questions.
THE MOVEMENT FOR PODGORICA IS OFFICIALLY SILENT
Questions sent to the email of the Movement for Podgorica, which is close to the head of state, also remained unanswered. Jakov Milatović, so it was not officially possible to find out from that political entity whether they "like" both candidates in the competition for the first person in charge of finance in the Capital City - Špadijer, who was high on that entity's list during the last local elections, but also Raković, who is allegedly their unofficial candidate, whose appointment they want.
Even the Movement's officials did not officially want to reveal the cards.
"Balša is too independent. We'll see what happens and what the commission decides. In general, we were satisfied with his work, but it could have been much better," one of the Movement's officials told Vijesti unofficially.
Špadijer had 45 points on the written part of the test, while his opponent Raković had 41.
When asked if he was aware that the other candidate had received a series of benefits from the former city authorities over the years, the official replied that he had "heard something about it."
Another official said he was not even aware of who was opening the Movement's official email, but he did not want to comment further on the alleged intra-party disputes.
A third official of the Movement claims that he does not even know why any of his colleagues would be dissatisfied with the work of Špadier.
"I haven't heard a valid reason for that, but I have heard that the opposing candidate has a politically 'problematic history,'" he said.
The testing of candidates for the position of Secretary for Financial Affairs and Budget Analysis of the Capital City was held on February 6, in the premises of the Secretariat for Local Self-Government and Cooperation with Civil Society. Two candidates applied for the public competition to fill this position: the current Secretary Balša Špadijer and the Head of the Treasury Sector in this body Stanka Raković. The testing was conducted in accordance with the public competition, and the decision on the selection of the Secretary for a full term will be announced after the entire procedure is completed," the Capital City officially responded.
Špadijer was appointed acting secretary for financial affairs in July 2023 after running on the PES list in those local elections. He comes from the banking sector. During the disputes within the unified PES, between the current head of state and Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, Špadijer supported Milatović.
Raković has been employed in the Capital City for many years, and her involvement in Podgorica's finances has been for at least a decade.
APARTMENT, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, GRANTS...
"Vijesti" sent several questions to Mujović's office, but the answers came through the PR service of the Capital City.
In these responses, the Capital City confirms that Raković is a long-time employee in the finance sector, but also that she is from the administration of the former first man of Podgorica. Miomir Mugoša received a 66 square meter apartment on favorable terms.
Raković was, the Capital City responded to "Vijesti", a member of the Board of Directors of the Clinical Center of Montenegro from 2017 to 2021, at the time when the institution was managed by Jevto ErakovicShe is currently on the Board of Directors of the company "Plodovi", in which the city has a 52,74 percent ownership stake.
They also state that both Raković children were employed in the capital city system during the time of the mayor from the DPS ranks. One of them, they claim, was also the recipient of a grant from the administration. Ivan Vuković, so from mid-2023 to the end of 2024, she was both an employee of the Capital City system and a user of a temporary facility on Independence Square. The Capital City also responded to "Vijesti" that the husband of that city employee was entitled to non-refundable support from the Capital City in the amount of 3.500 euros in 2023, based on the distribution of funds within the Competition for Support to the Business Community.
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