The removal of sewage sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in the Vještica settlement in Bečići has not been carried out for more than two and a half months, and the sludge in the pools has reached its peak, while the containers await transport:
This was confirmed to "Vijesta" by the executive director of the municipal company "Otpade vode", which manages the plant. Milivoje Radulović.
According to Radulović, sludge removal has not been carried out since February 16, when the contract concluded between Komunalno Budva and the company "Montelea" Podgorica expired.
"Immediately after the publication of the Public Procurement Plan, the Budva utility company issued a public invitation for those services so that there would be no delay in the removal of sludge and that the technological process at the plant would be carried out smoothly. After the publication of the Decision on the selection of the most favorable bidder, an appeal was filed against that decision on April 3 by the second-ranked bidder "SLD Nikac Montenegro Plus" Tivat, whose bid was invalid due to several irregularities. The statement of the business entity was not verified by electronic signature, which is necessary according to Article 22 of the Law on Public Procurement", stressed Radulović.
He stated that the Decision also questioned the certificates on the quality and successful execution of the same and similar jobs, where a minimum of three certificates worth 50.000 euros without VAT were requested.
"The client, Komunalno Budva, requested evidence in the form of contracts and invoices from the certificate issuer, but the requested invoices were not delivered. The contracts did not specify the price for the performance of the services, even though the certificates stated that the contracts were concluded for 50.000 euros, and accordingly the Utility Company determined that the submitted certificates were incorrect. A subsequent review of the database on the Tax Administration's portal, and a review of the submitted balance sheets and income statements for 2022, also show that the company that filed the complaint "SLD Nikac Montenegro Plus" reported a turnover of slightly over 2022 euros in 56.000, which also indicates that said certificates are forged. One of the attached certificates was issued by a company from a neighboring country, and the founder/owner, as well as the executive director, is the same person as in the company for which the certificate is issued, which additionally questions the validity of the issued certificate and possibly the criminal responsibility of the person responsible. persons", said Radulović.
He reminded that sewage sludge from the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Montenegro has been exported to Albania for years and Montenegro has no alternative for it.
"That's why we understand the request of the Budva Municipal Company, which required the bidders to have certain references in performing the same or similar jobs," emphasized Radulović.
This situation, as pointed out by Radulović, forced Otpade vode to announce an urgent procurement for the transport of sludge on April 18, although until now this was the responsibility of another municipal company, namely Komunalno Budva doo Budva.
"With this, for a certain period of one month, it could be concluded that the problem will be solved, and by then the response of the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures is expected. All this indicates that there are some shortcomings of the Law on Public Procurement, and above all the fact that a certain bidder can suspend the public invitation by lodging a complaint, even when it is very important in terms of environmental protection and human health, and indeed in such cases a quick and unequivocal answer is needed Commission. Wastewater, due to the seriousness of the situation and fear for the further technological process in the purification of waste water from the territory of Budva and Bečići, and at the same time concern when it comes to environmental protection, sent a letter to all competent state bodies, informing them of the problem and asking them to comply to the best of their ability, help the decision on the reported appeal to be made as soon as possible. In that letter, it is also stated that the tourist season is starting in earnest and that it is necessary to intensively remove sludge from the pool in this period in order to enter the peak tourist season with as little concentration of sludge as possible, because in that period, and all because of inadequate aeration which is installed, it is not possible to expect good results of water purification", concluded Radulović.
Fecal water was discharged into the atmospheric channel
The Service for Inspection Affairs Kotor, as reported by Vijesti in August 2021, fined the company "SLD Nikac Montenegro" in the amount of 1.500 euros for discharging fecal waste water into the storm drain.
This was then announced by the Service for Inspection Affairs, and according to the initiative of a group of citizens from the Škaljari settlement.
"On Sunday, August 15, the competent inspector of the inspection service received a telephone report and, with the assistance of an officer of the Kotor Police Department, carried out an inspection in the town of Vidikovac - Škaljari. At the moment of on-site control, fresh truck tire tracks can be clearly seen next to the stream itself, where feces can be seen. "According to the statements of several locals who filmed the tanker releasing feces into the stream with their mobile phones, as well as to the videos and photos of the same, it can be concluded that it is a company," it was announced at the time.
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