What exactly is foreseen in the draft budget? Where are savings planned? Does the government have a vision for the economic and financial recovery of Montenegro?
The guest of tonight's show "Nachisto" on TV Vijesti was the Minister of Finance and Social Welfare, Milojko Spajić.
21.55 At the end of the conversation, Spajić said that it is necessary to turn to the future and unity.
He pointed out that the capital budget must be evenly distributed and that citizens in each municipality "feel like citizens of this country".
21.50 When reminded that he had said that the deceased SPC bishop Atanasije was the greatest Balkan theologian, and that that bishop once said that "Muslims smell of tallow" and that "Radovan Karadžić's hands are clean", Spajić said that Atanasije is a world-renowned theologian, and that he heard those statements for the first time from President Milo Đukanović "who hugged such people and him personally".
"I completely disassociate myself from those statements and they do not reflect the values behind which I stand," he pointed out.
Asked if he felt the need to apologize to Bosniaks and Muslims in Montenegro, Spajić said he wanted to apologize to Montenegrin Bosniaks for what they endured in the XNUMXs in Montenegro. "I know what those people went through - let's say Bukovica, hundreds of people who were expelled from there, six killed... we should start from there."
He said that Srebrenica is a civilizational issue behind which "we should all stand and condemn such things", but that before that we should clean up our yard. "And what happened in our country is a shame. The state should do something about that," said the minister.
21.35 Asked to comment on Minister Vladimir Leposavic's statement about Srebrenica, Spajić said that he trusts international institutions and the court that ruled that genocide took place, and that he fully agrees with that verdict, as well as with the resolution of the European Parliament.
"I think we all gave a clear line to the state of Montenegro that it is unequivocal."
21.25 State-owned companies, which have made a profit, should help the state that is in crisis and "return what was invested in them with a contribution", Spajić said.
"They can be easily financed by the EBRD, international investors..." - said the minister, saying that this investment cycle would be under the strict scrutiny of investors and that no investments would be made in projects that would not be good
"We force them to some kind of discipline, to fight for investors' money with good projects, without incorporating, unnecessary consultants..."
21.16 Speaking about the purchase of two planes for the "ToMontenegro" company, Spajić said that they found a harmful agreement on the rental of planes, that in case of termination of the contract, at least 43 million euros should have been paid immediately, without receiving the aircraft, and that they managed to turn the situation around contract for the purchase of an aircraft for 17-18 million euros.
He said that they are discussing with Brussels what type of aid to the workers of Montenegro Airlines would be acceptable as permitted state aid.
21.05 Speaking about the plan to tax undeclared property, Spajić explained that in that case the state would first collect the tax, and that later "someone can sue the state to prove that the property was acquired legally."
20.54 Regarding the accusations that by increasing the excise duty on certain products, they destroyed the business plans of some of the companies that adopted business plans for this year, Spajić said that he has no obligation to anyone except the citizens, and that the new government is different from the previous government.
"Big businessmen have interests that do not always coincide with state interests," he said.
20.45 Regarding the budget proposal, which plans to increase the minimum wage to 250 euros and what will be done if the employers' response is to lay off workers, Spajić said that through a detailed analysis of the labor market, they came to the conclusion that this solution is sustainable, and that it must be supported by other fiscal solutions that are in preparation.
20.35 Spajić pointed out that he is not against taxing the highest pensions and that one of the former officials "who brought the country to this state" has a pension of 2.200 euros.
He said that in Montenegro there are 400 pensions above 1.000 euros and that most of them are former officials.
Fiscal policy will be planned, "and not because I don't like some DPS member with 2.200 euros", he added.
20.25 Spajić said that he did not know where the journalists got the document that stated the tax plan for high pensions.
He did not answer the question whether the document, which he called a working paper, had his signature and the seal of the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare.
He did not deny that the taxation of high pensions was one of the possible measures and said that 170 measures were considered, but that the document published by "Vijesti" was not considered at the Government session.
He said that it is possible that the journalists were manipulated by the document and claimed that it was "ad hominem attacks".
When asked why he didn't address it on Tuesday in the Parliament of Montenegro after the question of SDP MP Raško Konjević, Spajić explains that he was very tired and that he didn't hear all the questions.
20.20 Spajić said that the state is not in a problem if the projections for the upcoming season are not fulfilled, for which they believe that revenues will be at the level of 65 percent of 2019, because a rebalancing will be done, but he emphasized that they fully stand behind that projection .
"We have communication with the EU and one level of assurance that they will be open to Montenegro".
20.16 When asked what they intend to do with the ski resorts in which more than 100 million euros have been invested, Spajić reminded that the EBRD does not finance ski resorts below 2.000 meters, because in the long term they think it is not a good investment.
"Then why should the state invest in those ski resorts? But, it's already the beginning of the project, a good part of it is finished, and we have no other choice but to finish that project and do the maximum of what already exists."
He said that the highway that has been started is perhaps the most expensive in the world per kilometer of road, but that they have no choice but to finish the project.
20.14 The minister said that they currently have no evidence of alleged abuses when it comes to social benefits, and that they have just started researching those lists.
20.10 Spajić said that optimization of public administration is necessary, but that it is not good to do it in times of crisis. "Even the economy cannot take over the redundant employees from the administration, the economy is recovering after a severe crisis..."
He said that there are about 50.000 people in the administration and that these are "disastrous numbers".
20.05 Spajić said that the proposed budget is four times more transparent than the previous two governments did in eight years.
"In three months, we did four times more work than the previous two governments did in eight years".
He pointed out that the budget does not contain crisis taxes, VAT increases and other measures that regularly occurred after major recessions.
"The budget managed to be both developmental and social in such a crisis," he added.
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