The latest dismissals of leaders at the Health Insurance Fund (FZO) Vuk Kadić and the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG) Ivan Bulatović could cost the budget almost 150.000 euros, based on their right to payment of salaries that they would have received if their mandate had not been terminated before the end of the term.
Both of their terms expire at the beginning of 2028. Regardless of whether the reason for their removals is justified or political, the price of such decisions will ultimately be paid by Montenegrin citizens.
As of yesterday, the former director of the Health Insurance Fund received a decision on his dismissal today.
"So I will appeal no later than Monday. I have already contacted my lawyer, he is waiting for me to bring him that decision and for us to file a lawsuit with the Administrative Court," said Kadić.
He announces criminal charges against the president of the Fund's Board of Directors and his deputy, who, as he claims, illegally dismissed him. They continue to insist that he was dismissed because he violated the law by signing agreements with foreign clinics without the consent of the Ministry of Health.
"Behind the loud statements and political accusations lies a simple truth - the Fund's director knowingly violated the law and must be held accountable for it," said the Board of Directors of the Health Insurance Fund.
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Kadić claims that everything is a political farce.
"Why? Because despite all this talk that started three weeks ago, the Ministry of Health, as the only supervisory authority, has not sent a letter or email warning us in any way or saying that the contracts should be stopped or that written consent is required for these contracts," he said.
Kadić will appeal to return to work and be paid his salary until the end of his term in February 2028. If his last reported salary in that position of around 1.400 euros is taken into account, it means that he is due over 36 thousand euros on that basis alone.
"I will definitely donate this portion of my earnings during this period to charity, I have already announced that to them. And they will have to pay these court costs," said Kadić.
In the case of the recently dismissed director of EPCG, Ivan Bulatović, if he appeals, the compensation for unpaid wages will exceed 110.000 euros.
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However, in a written statement to Television Vijesti, Bulatović said that he would wait until he received a decision on his dismissal before taking further action:
"Since I have not yet received an official decision on the dismissal, nor the minutes of the session at which the decision was made, I would not comment on any possible next steps at this time. Of course, the decision to dismiss is the result of the needs and interests of the government structures and as such, unfortunately, I understand it, but I do not support it," Bulatović said.
Unwilling to comment on current cases, the ruling Democrats say that compensation is the price that must be paid for the government's intention to introduce meritocracy:
"As much good as it is, it will certainly cause as much harm, because these people, heads of institutions or companies, regardless, use the opportunity offered to them when signing employment contracts, because the norms regarding certain compensation and how and in what sense it will be paid are clearly defined," said Zdenka Popović, Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro from the ranks of Democratic Montenegro.
For the opposition, the dismissals are the product of political games of which Kadić and Bulatović are just the latest victims in a series:
"It all started, you will remember, with Vesna Bratić. When the political unfit professionals in education were cut down, it later came to fruition. However, political or any other responsibility was absent. And then, I guess, those in power became emboldened to do whatever they wanted, regardless of the consequences of the supported budget," said Nikola Rakočević, a member of parliament from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).
The recent cases of removal of heads of public companies and institutions before the end of their mandate are not the first, and they will evidently not be the last, that could cost citizens, regardless of whether they are the result of political games, as the opposition claims, or the introduction of meritocracy, as the government claims.
Namely, from January next year, a new Law on Business Companies should be adopted, which, as MP Popović told us, will lead to the replacement of managers due to the new method of selecting heads of public companies and institutions, who will be entitled to compensation due to the termination of their mandate.
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