Fishermen gathered around the "Sveti Nikola - Budva" Association are dissatisfied with the Government's latest decision by which the Port of Budva, part of it, can be given to investors for management, thus repeating the practice from earlier decades.
"Dear citizens who live by the sea and from the sea and the entire Montenegrin public, we would like to introduce you to the events and problems we are facing due to the irresponsible actions of the Government of Montenegro, and above all the Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, under whose authority they are and Montenegrin ports. After all our protests and appeals addressed to the government's Public Enterprise for the Management of Maritime Assets, and therefore to the Government, regarding the invalidation of the conclusion by which consent was given for the Port of Budva to be used by the Municipality of Budva, the Government passes a new Regulation on ports with which prescribe the conditions that must be met by ports classified according to the type of maritime traffic and purpose. The adoption of this Regulation is justified by the introduction of an international maritime line between Budva and Dubrovnik, and in essence, this regulation enables a different purpose to be determined for a certain part of the port", the fishermen's announcement states.
For example, as they explain, although the Port of Budva is a port of local importance, in accordance with this new government regulation, a part of the port itself can be used for a different purpose, that is, it can be given a concession to an investor.
"Such procedures enable the continuity of practices from the previous two decades to the detriment of citizens and local self-governments, which by nature belong to local resources such as the Port of Budva. This behavior on the part of the Government and the relevant minister confirms the Government's intentions and position regarding the Port of Budva, as well as other ports of local importance in other municipalities. It is clear to the citizens that everything boils down to total centralization, which is contrary to the Constitution and the Law on Local Self-Government and the European Charter on Local Self-Government, which obliges us to decentralize. Following the third special session of the regular session of the Parliament of Montenegro in 2024, we heard that a proposal to amend the Law on Ports, which refers to ports of local importance, is being prepared by MP Ana Novaković Đurović. In this way, we as citizens and fishermen of the city of Budva want to publicly thank her for initiating such an important issue for us in the parliamentary procedure. When the future proposal to amend the Law on Ports is put into the procedure and the implied broad consultations are carried out, we expect that socially responsible decisions will be made by members of the Assembly and that ports of local importance will be returned to the management of local governments. Also, we appeal and ask all MPs from the coastal municipalities to contribute with their integrity to support the future proposal to amend the Law on Ports for the benefit of all the citizens of the mentioned municipalities", the announcement concludes.
Bonus video:
