After twenty days ago, the Municipality of Bar did not answer the question for whom, i.e. whose needs, two vehicles worth 110 thousand euros were purchased at the beginning of the year, today, based on the Law on Free Access to Information, I received an official confirmation of what I assumed , that the vehicles were bought for the leaders of the Bar Municipality, the president of that local administration, Dušan Raičević, and the president of the Municipal Assembly, Branislav Nenezić.
This was announced by Democrat MP and councilor in Bar's local parliament, Momčilo Leković.
In response to his request for information, the Municipality of Bar informed him that the municipal president's office has four vehicles, namely: Škoda Enyaq Coupe RS with a price of 54.260,83 euros, Škoda Superb FL STYLE 2.0 TSI with a price of 25.950,00 euros, Skoda Karoq Ambition 1.5 TS DSG with a price of 16.528,93 euros as well as Skoda Octavia FI Ambition with a price of 11.818,18 euros.
On the other hand, Leković stated, the fleet of the president of the Bar Municipality is somewhat more modest, and in his "collection" he has a Škoda Octavia FI Ambition worth 11.818,18 euros, as well as a new Škoda Enyaq 60 with a price of 36.699,17 euros.
The total value of the fleet of only these two services managed by the leaders of the Bar municipality is currently 157.075,29 euros, he emphasized.
"Although they tried to deny or avoid the topic of the procurement of official vehicles, the travel orders published on the website of the Municipality clearly confirm that the expensively paid vehicles were purchased for the President of the Municipality who is 'in debt' as we can see the slightly more expensive version of the Škoda with the RS mark and the President of the Assembly who is in debt. a more modest' variant that is not a 'Rally Sport' model. Both presidents go to parliamentary sessions in the state parliament in these official cars," Leković wrote.
He pointed out that investing over 100.000 euros in luxury official vehicles acts as an act that contradicts the basic principles of responsible public administration. This, he added, can create the perception that the priorities of local authorities are far from the real needs of citizens.
"Establishing a luxury vehicle fleet as a symbol of power and prestige sends the message that local leaders may be more focused on their comforts than on solving the concrete problems that citizens face every day. This kind of investment can additionally be perceived as insensitivity towards those whose daily living conditions are far from from luxury. While public funds are used to satisfy luxury needs, there is a legitimate question as to whether these resources could be better used for improving local infrastructure or social protection," he asked.
The citizens of Bar deserve clear explanations about how their money is spent, Leković believes, and adds that the government must be an example of responsible behavior, and such decisions without justification only undermine the trust between citizens and the local government. In this context, greater responsibility and awareness of the real priorities of citizens is needed.
"Investments like this must be strictly justified by real needs, not personal interests or prestige, because the primary task of local government is to serve citizens and improve the common good, not personal comfort," he concluded.
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