U Petrovcu, u blizini hotela “Rivijera” na plaži, sa kanalizacionog otvora, poslije oluje nestao je poklopac. Otpadne vode iz kanalizaciononog sistem ulivaju se direktno u more. Naokolo je užasan miris. Turisti koji šetaju nasipom sve ovo vide, javila je sa svoje ruske adrese za www.ekoteme.gradjanireaguju.me čitateljka portala CIN-CG koja se potpisala kao Anastasia. 

Iako je fotografija koju je poslala nastala 12. decembra, provjerom CIN-CG-a, nadležni ni dva dana kasnije nijesu reagovali. Talasi prelivaju preko otvora odnoseći u povratku otpadne vode u more, a bura ne uspijeva da otkloni neprijatni miris.

Iako je razriješena krajem oktobra, Maraš nije Agenciji ostavila imovinski karton po prestanku funkcije. Njen nasljednik na čelu kompanije Miroslav Vuković uradio je to u roku

Agencija za sprečavanje korupcije pokrenula je postupak protiv doskorašnje izvršne direktorice „13. Jul – Plantaže“ Verice Maraš zbog sumnje da je prekršila Zakon o sprečavanju korupcije, potvrđeno je Centru za istraživačko novinarstvo Crne Gore (CIN-CG).

Odbor direktora „Plantaža“ smijenio je prije mjesec i po dana Maraš, koja je 13 godina bila na čelu kompanije u većinski državnom vlasništvu.

Zakonom o sprečavanju korupcije propisano je da je javni funkcioner kome je prestala funkcija dužan u roku od 30 dana da Agenciji dostavi vanredni imovinski karton. S obzirom da njega nije bilo u registru imovinskih kartona ni poslije mjesec i po dana, CIN-CG pitao je Agenciju da li je protiv nje pokretala postupak zbog sumnje da je prekršila Zakon.

„Maraš nakon razriješenja sa funkcije izvršne direktorice privrednog društva „13. jul – Plantaže“ AD Podgorica nije podnijela Agenciji izvještaj o prihodima i imovini u roku predviđenom članom 23 Zakona o sprječavanju korupcije. Agencija je pokrenula postupak iz svoje nadležnosti u odnosu na javnu funkcionerku Vefricu Maraš,“ navodi se u odgovoru Agencije.

Ukoliko Agencija potvrdi da je ona prekšrila Zakon, može biti novčano kažnjena od 500 do 2.000 eura.

Maraš nije odgovorila na pitanja novinara CIN-CG da li ispunila zakonsku obavezu po odlasku sa čela kompanije.

Ona je u drugoj polovini oktobra „rukovodeći se razlozima očuvanja kompanijskih interesa“ od Odbora direktora zatražila da je razriješi sa funkcije izvršne direktorice, navodeći među razlozima i to što se promijenila vlast u zemlji poslije parlamentarnih izbora održanih 30. avgusta. Maraš je članica sada opozicione Demokratske partije socijalista (DPS).

Za direktora je izabran Vuković, a Maraš je raspoređena na poslove savjetnice. Vuković je u zakonskom roku dostavio Agenciji imovinski karton.

Menadžment “Plantaža” našao se na meti interesovanja javnosti nakon što je Maraš u posljednjem redovnom godišnjem imovinskom kartonu prijavila da su njena osnovna primanja prošle godine iznosila 7.370 eura.

Poslije burnih reakcija, Odbor direktora je odlučio da joj ubuduće dodjeljuje četiri umjesto osam prosječnih plata u tom preduzeću.

Novi direktor prijavio je Agenciji da je njegova prva plata na novoj poziciji iznosila nepunih 2.245 eura. Vuković je, prema pisanju medija, zadržao pravo da mu na toj poziciji bude zarada koju je imao na radnom mjestu direktora sektora pravnih i opštih poslova, a koja je sa obračunatim minulim radnim stažom iznosila 2.300 mjesečno,.

Bivša finansijska direktorica Valerija Saveljić godinama optužuje „Plantaže“ da fabrikuju bilans uspjeha, tako što šteluju vrijednost zaliha, što su negirali iz ove kompanije.

Odbor direktora “Plantaža” ima predsjednika i osam članova, a bira ih Skupština akcionara na period od godinu. Do skoro je imala predsjednika i šest članova.

Država je preko fondova većinski vlasnik “Plantaža”, pa su njihovi predstavnici i članovi Odbora direktora.

Investiciono razvojni fond (IRF) i Fond penzijskog invalidskog osiguranja (PIO) imaju 22 i 21,5 odsto udjela u “Plantažama”. Zavod za zapošljavanje (ZZZ) ima 8,5 odsto, Podgorička banka  9,2 odsto. Manjinski akcionari, takođe, imaju svog predstavnika.

Na čelo Odbora direktora je krajem septembra izabran redovni profesor na Ekonomskom fakultetu u Podgorici Božo Mihailović, a za članove direktor Fonda PIO Dušan Perović, bivši direktor „Plantaža“ Đorđije Rajković, profesor na Ekonomskom fakultetu Boban Melović, profesor na Fakultetu za poslovnu ekonomiju i pravo iz Bara Veselin Orlandić, predstavnik Zavoda za zapošljavanje Sead Šahman, izvršni direktor „Valuation consultant“ Zoran Senić, menadžer sektora rizika u IRF-u  Vladislav Dulović i direktor sektora za privredu u CKB  Nikola Perišić.

U odluci se navodi da su oni izabrani na četiri godine. Ranije je mandat članova Odbora direktora trajao godinu.

Pod lupom i tri člana Odbora direktora

Agencija je krajem juna pokrenula postupak protiv najmanje tri člana tadašnjeg saziva Odbora direktora zbog sumnje da su godinama kršili Zakon o sprečavnju korupcije.

To je uradila nakon što su “Vijesti” objavile da imovina Boža Mihailovića, Đorđija Rajkovića i Anice Hajduković godinama nije poznata.

Mihailović je sada predsjednik Odbora direktora, a Rajković je ostao član i u ovom sazivu.

Zakonom je propisano da je javni funkcioner dužan da dostavlja imovinske kartone Agenciji i to najmanje jednom godišnje - redovni godišnji se dostavlja do kraja marta za prošlogodišnje stanje.

Agencija još nije donijela odluke u ovim slučajevima.

Miloš RUDOVIĆ

U velikom broju romskih porodica govore svojoj djeci: ‘’Pa što bi se ti obrazovao, dovoljna ti je osnovna škola, svakako ćeš na kraju čistiti ulice.’’ Takvo mišljenje u porodicama kreira i sistem, zato što Romi ne vide sebe kao dio zajednice jednakih i ravnopravnih

Mladi Romi i Egipćani moraju, prije svega, da razmišljaju svojom glavom. Imamo i mi naših grešaka, ali ima i država i zato je potrebna ruka saradnje – kaže u razgovoru za Centar za istraživačko novinarstvo (CIN-CG) politikolog Almir Tahiri.

Uz insistiranje na obrazovanju sve većeg broja mladih iz romske i egipćanske populacije, Tahiri naglašava da i njihova zajednica mora da se odrekne običaja pravdanih tradicijom. Riječ je, prije svega, o ranim ugovorenim i prisilnim brakovima i o nasilju nad ženama. “Iako nasilje nad ženama nije dio kulture, običaja i tradicije kod Roma, toga ima i danas. Ne kažem da nema kod neromske zajednice, ali ima i kod nas. Moramo zajedno da se borimo protiv toga”. 

Tahiri je jedan od malobrojnih fakultetskih obrazovanih Roma u Crnoj Gori. Poslije završenog fakulteta političkih nauka u Podgorici, na Centralno evropskom univerzitetu u Budimpešti usavršavao je znanja iz međunarodnih odnosa i diplomatije i engleskog. Trenutno radi kao asistent direktora i administrativni menadžer u međunarodnoj kompaniji Alucon group, koja učestvuje u realiziciji  projekta Portonovi. U potrazi, kako kaže, za dodatnim znanjem i vještinama, upisao je specijalističke studije menadžmenta u biznisu na Fakultetu za menadžment u Herceg Novom. 

- Glavni pokretači u mom obrazovanju, majka, otac i kompletna porodica tjerali su me da se obrazujem, konstantno govoreći da je to krucijalno za moju budućnost. Sa pet godina, uputili su me u predškolsko vaspitanje i na taj način pokušali integrisati u većinsku zajednicu. Moje djetinjstvo je prošlo kao i svako drugo romsko, praćeno stigmatizacijom, diskriminacijom. Ali i mojim konstantnim dokazivanjem da ja zaista mogu, znam, hoću i da nije tako kako drugi misle. Ne mogu da kažem da je bilo lako. Naročito, ako ste jedini pripadnik romske zajednice u školi. Surova je realnost, da romska djeca sjede u zadnjoj klupi - prisjeća se Tahiri. 

Njegov problem je, kaže bio i to što u najranijem periodu nije imao primjer koji bi slijedio. 

-Moji roditelji su neobrazovani i kad bih dolazio kući, plakao i govorio da ne želim u školu, jer me djeca maltretiraju I nazivaju pogrdnim imenima, nijesam nailazio na razumjevanje, da me neko uputi da te stvari nijesu normalne, ali da moramo da se borimo sa tim i da to nikad ne prihvatamo.  Nije to krivica mojih roditelja, zato što su oni neemanicipovani, ali su, ipak, dali sve od sebe da me izvedu na pravi put. U srednjoj školi, bilo je blaže što se tiče stigmatizacije i diskriminacije, dok su me na fakultetu lijepo prihvatili. Družili smo se i danas sam u kontaktu sa većinom – kaže Tahiri. 

Koliko ocjenjujete važnost školovanja romske i egipćanske populacije na putu njihovog osnaživanja i potpunijeg integrisanja u društvo?

- To mora biti imperativ. Pored osnovnog, zakonom bih uveo i obavezno srednjoškolsko obrazovanje, kao što su to uradile neke zemlje u regionu. Da sva romska djeca pohadjaju osnovnu i srednju školu i da budu podstaknuta i da im se razvije svijest o potrebi da ide na fakultet. 

Mislim da je na tom planu nedovoljan rad države, ali i nevladinog sektora, koji ne podstiču u dovoljnoj mjeri mlade na dalje školovanje, ne rade sa njima i ohrabruju ih.

Ako je trenutno u osnovnim školama gotovo hiljadu mališana iz RE populacije, a tek svaki deseti upiše srednju školu i nešto više od jednog procenta fakultet, gdje vidite ključne probleme?

-Većina naših roditelja radi u komunalnim preduzećima, ili se bavi sakupljanjem sekundarnih sirovina. Ne generalizujem, ali u velikom broju romskih porodica govore svojoj djeci: ‘’Pa što bi se ti obrazovao, dovoljna ti je osnovna škola, svakako ćeš na kraju čistiti ulice.’’ Takvo mišljenje u porodicama kreira i sistem, zato što Romi ne vide sebe kao dio zajednice jednakih i ravnopravnih. Prije godinu dana, predložio sam jednom lokalnom hotelu da zaposle mog rođenog brata, koji je vrhunski šanker, za to se i školovao. Predložio sam da zaposle i jednog druga, koji je htio da radi običan fizički posao, čišćenje, održavanje higijene, rad u kuhinji, vozač, šofer, što god, jer ima samo osnovnu školu. Menadžer hotela je odbio, a kasnije vidim da su zaposleni Filipinci. 

Šta bi, na osnovu Vašeg iskustva, trebalo uraditi da se više pripadnika RE populacije bolje školuje i adekvatno zaposli? 

- Treba nam pružiti šansu. Postoji mogućnost da se smanji broj nezaposlenih Roma, da učestvujemo u razvoju turizma. Imamo iza nas bogatu kulturu staru vjekovima. Samo u mojoj kući se govore četiri jezika, od kojih su dva engleski i njemački. Imate takvih porodica na stotine u Crnoj Gori. Zamislite, ako imate romsko dijete koje već govori nekoliko stranih jezika, koliko ga je lako naučiti još jedan, ili uvesti u stručno osposobljavanje, da bude konobar, kuvar, šanker. Da sjutra bude zaposlen u nekom luksuznom, turističkom hotelu. Gost će zaista imati osjećaj da se nalazi u građanskom, multikulturalnoj, multinacionalnoj, multikonfesionalnoj zajednici. Da ne govorim kako naši kulinarski specijaliteti mogu dodatno obogatiti  turističku ponudu. Tu je i ekonomski benefit. Ako zaposlite Roma, on neće biti na teretu države, nego će joj doprinositi. Treba samo ekonomski razmišljati, ne mora neko nas da ‘’integriše’’ zato što nas voli

To bi dodatno podstaklo i mlađe generacije, da se dodatno usavršavaju, školuju, jer bi vidjeli pozitivne primjere.

Gdje u tome vidite ulogu države, a gdje nevladinog sektora?

Država treba da pruži ruku saradnje romskim mladim ljudima, koji su emancipovani, školovani, kreativni. Mi volimo Crnu Goru. Nećemo mi nigdje odavde, svidjalo se to mnogima ili ne. Koliko je ova država Crnogoraca, Srba, Hrvata, Bosanaca, Albanaca, toliko je i naša. Ja tu vidim rešenje, ako zajedno učestvujemo u kreiranju javnih politika koje bi doprinjele našem položaju. Tu su i međunarodne organizacije, koje bi trebalo da pomognu. 

Zar nije apsurd, da je od 2010. do 2020. godine možda petnaestak Roma završilo fakultet. Mizerija. Ali, ne možemo za to kriviti samo državu. Meni je omogućila stipendiju, studenski dom. Bez te stipendije, nikad ne bih završio fakultet. Ja tu vidim krivicu i u romskom NVO sektoru, jer ne podstiču dovoljno mlade na obrazovanje. Da li je to određena vrsta ljubomore samoprozvanih lidera, ili strah od konkurencije koja bi se stvorila nakon određenog vremena, to je već druga tema. Čast izuzecima, par nevladinih organizacija, koje se zaista trude, angažuju, bore se, ali to nije glas naroda.

Pratim i rad ostalog NVO sektora. Podjite po tim organizacijama po Crnoj Gori što dobijaju određene evropske i državne projekte. Pare za Rome, nigdje zaposlenog Roma. Ili, ako je zaposlen, to bude neki stažista, aktivista, asistent, dobije neku crkavicu. Čisto da se slika u medijima, kao da je on tu. Nećete vi čuti da je negdje neki Rom koordinator u projektu, projekt menadžer... Gdje su sve te pare date za Rome, a nigdje zaposlenog Roma. Projekat za Rome - bez Roma.

Sve su glasniji zahtjevi za političku participaciju Roma i Egipćana i takozvanu pozitivnu diskriminaciju koja je primijenjena kod drugih manjina. Kako, kao politikolog gledate na mogućnost da se na nekim narednim izborima Romi i Egipćani pojave sa svojom partijom?

- Mislim da smo politički diskriminisani zato što je jednoj manjinskoj zajednici omogućen smanjen cenzus, a nama nije, iako nas brojčano ima malo više od njih. Ali, to nas ne treba da zaustavi u namjeri da budemo politički aktivni i izađemo na političku scenu. 

To može donijeti samo dobro. Mislim da je osnovana jedna politička partija, prije godinu dana. Nije mi poznato zašto nijesu izašli na parlamentarne izbore. To je velika šteta. Mene bi lično radovalo da u budućnosti vidim romsku poilitičku partiju koja će sigurno biti za progres zajednice i obogatiti građansku Crnu Goru. Da u raznim institucijama vidimo zaposlene Rome. U parlamentu, da se čuje glas Roma. 

Nardi AHMETOVIĆ

It is necessary to continue providing scholarships and mentoring programs, to promote positive examples of pupils and students, to provide quality practical classes, but also to promote the principle of affirmative action when enrolling Roma and Egyptians, Samir Jaha, the executive director of the NGO Young Roma, says

The number of Roma and Egyptians (RE) who decide to continue their education after finishing primary school is growing every year, but it is still an inadequate and slow process, which must be more strongly supported by the society. According to the research conducted by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), the insufficient success of mastering the curriculum and a small number of those who reach higher educational levels speak it favor of it.

Out of about 8,000 members of RE community in Montenegro, there are 1,800 primary school and 115 secondary school pupils. Of the high school pupils, only one attends the gymnasium, while the rest are in vocational schools.

So far, eleven students from the RE community have successfully completed their studies at the State University of Montenegro, while 12 are still studying. Six new students enrolled the faculty this year, three of whom were admitted according to the principle of affirmative action, whereby the enrollment requirements were lowered, while three were enrolled in accordance with the regular procedure - it was announced recently during a meeting of representatives of the University of Montenegro and the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights.

Despite the fact that these numbers are still small, it is still a progress, because according to the NGO Young Roma, there were no new Roma students last year, and after three years, several Roma re-enrolled in high schools in Berane.

"According to our knowledge from the field, the number of young people from the RE community who will attend the education process at all three levels this school year will be significantly higher, which makes us particularly happy and encourages us to continue promoting the improvement of this process. However, the results of their school achievements are what we need to take into account and what, the institutions, the civil sector and others dealing with these problems should be additionally worried about", Samir Jaha, the Executive Director of the NGO Youth Roma, says for CIN-CG.

Based on the research of this NGO for the school year 2018/19 on a sample of 122 pupils, or half of those in the final grades of primary school, there were no excellent pupils, very good only one, good 33, while 88 were sufficient. The total grade point average was 2.23, which is especially problematic for continuing education.

"Without the mentoring support provided by the NGO Young Roma with the financial support of the Roma Education Fund (REF) and the European Union, without scholarships provided by the Ministry of Education, the number of high school pupils would be significantly reduced," Jaha said.

He points out that RE children do not have the same opportunities as their peers from the majority population. He also states that RE students do not have adequate learning support, which results in poor school performance from the beginning. 

Jaha believes that in primary education it is necessary to provide the following: teaching assistants in all schools where 20 or more RE pupils attend classes, mentoring support to pupils, free textbooks and school supplies. It is also necessary to organize additional seminars for teachers, in order to have more sensibility towards RE pupils. Involvement of parents of Roma and Egyptian children in the work of the parents' council in schools is one of the conditions that Jaha insists on.

The report of the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights on the implementation of the Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians for 2019 states that the problem of lack of the awareness regarding the importance of education of this population due to poor socio-economic situation is present at all levels of education. One of the challenges that Roma and Egyptian children face during their education is insufficient knowledge of the official language.

For two years now, the NGO Young Roma has been implementing two projects in the field of education of RE pupils from primary and secondary schools “Improvement primary education - the first step towards quality secondary education” and "Increasing access and participation of Roma students in secondary education and transition to labor market". The projects` goals are raising the level of degree completion as well as improving the school success of RE pupils.

"Mentoring support to pupils has been provided through both projects. For that reason, 79 teachers and professors, who have worked with students of the RE population in the past period, have been hired for this activity. Their role is to monitor the work of students, provide them with support in order to prevent early school dropouts, motivate them to improve themselves and continue their education. "

For now, as Jaha states, they have had "only positive results", so they plan to continue with this practice in the upcoming school year as well.

During the first corona virus wave, the NGO Young Roma has provided 160 tablets with internet access worth 20,000 EUR to RE primary and secondary school pupils, so that they could attend online classes.

In the field of education of RE students in secondary and higher education, Jaha estimates that it is necessary to continue providing scholarships and mentoring programs, promote positive examples of pupils and students, provide quality practical classes, but also promote the principle of affirmative action when enrolling  RE students to faculties.

"It is important to create conditions for high school pupils to get a job upon graduation with the help of internship funds and employer support."

Declaration of Western Balkans Partners on Roma Integration was signed on 5th July 2019 in Poland. This document envisages a series of measures that should drastically improve the status of Roma in these countries. The Western Balkans countries have pledged to increase enrollment and completion rates for Roma primary education to 90 per cent, as well as enrollment and completion rate in secondary education to 50 per cent.

Delija: Don't give up

Miljaim Delija, a master's student at the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, is one of the few who graduated from the faculty.

"Education is very important for me as a member of the Egyptian community, as well as for my family. It can provide me an easy access to all institutions, the job for which I am qualified and better social position ", Delija says for CIN-CG.

He estimates that the education of RE youth, compared to the period when he started school, has improved in recent years and that the support of the state has played an important role.

"Roma and Egyptians now find it easier to exercise their rights, they now have scholarships which has not been the case in the past."

However, Delija believes that parents play a key role in the education process. Their support when it comes to children's education is predominantly focused on men, while girls are more likely to stay at home.

Delija strongly believes that education is the right way out of the vicious circle of poverty. 

"The message for young people is not to give up on education, because that is the right path to success. They should finish the high school and then go to college… Thus, they will help themselves, and later their family and the whole society ", Delija says.

Serđan BAFTIJARI

"Patriarchy is still practiced within the community itself, so few women decide to report violence," Fana Delija, from the Center for Roma Initiatives, said. Women and girls from the Roma and Egyptian (RE) population are particularly affected by poverty and the inability to permanently separate from the abuser

"We had an argument… He was drunk, he tied me up and started punching me. He was telling me to admit that I had cheated on him, he was hitting me on the upper part of my head and pulling out my hair. I was covered in blood. He mistreated me like that for two or three hours and said that I was a prostitute and that I was with another man. Then he kicked me in the legs. I started bleeding and I felt my leg and arm were broken… ”

From the horror experience she had survived, as she states in her confession to the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), ML saved herself thanks to her brother-in-law and a neighbor who called the police.

"My husband stopped  hitting me, he just asked where his phone was and threatened to kill me and the children. Then my brother-in-law intervened and defended me. I ran away to the neighbor and asked her to call the police… I waited 30 minutes for them to arrive. I told them I couldn't be with him anymore and explained what he had done to me. The police arrested him, and they took me to the doctor. They sewed me there, fixed my leg because it was broken… and my arm… they also sewed my head… ”

More and more cases

The number of cases of domestic violence in which women from the Roma and Egyptian communities are suffering is growing alarmingly this year. According to Fana Delija, executive coordinator of the Center for Roma Initiatives (CRI) in Niksic, the majority of cases remain unsolved "due to the great influence of tradition".

"Through our continuous work in the community, we notice that patriarchy is still practiced, which is why only few women decide to report violence," Delija said.

Based on those who still decide to take that step, Delija concludes that domestic violence in the RE population is on the rise this year.

"Last year, the Center for Roma Initiatives registered eight cases that we reported. It is not excluded that women from the RE community themselves reported the violence directly to the police, or to some other organization, such as the SOS hotline. As for the cases reported to the Center, we already have eight of them from the beginning of January until today. Unfortunately, we believe that there will be more of them by the end of the year ", Delija points out.

The Center for Roma Initiatives provided a telephone line for counseling and support to women suffering from domestic violence.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic has been declared, we have had more than 50 calls and counselling. The women only asked for some kind of support, not to report violence, but to consult a psychologist about how to report it, when to do something regarding the situation, how to access certain services, or to report the violence ", Delija said.

According to the personal confession of M.L. the chances of a woman getting out of the circle of violence are not big and often everything goes back to the beginning. She encountered the first obstacle when she left her husband since there was no room in the women's safe house at that time.

“The only way out of that situation was my father. Although he is ill, he has no money for his medicine, nor was there enough space in that barrack, because my brother and his children live there as well. I managed somehow to fit in there, until they called me from SOS Nikšić ", M.L says.

In her opinion, institutions should help women who report similar cases more. They should offer them security and help them temporarily, so that they can move on by themselves. It is necessary, she says, to find a solution for accommodation, regardless of whether there is a room in a women's safe house.

"In the end, without support, the woman has to be on the street, or like me, to return to the husband because that was my only option."

A joint response is needed

Mirjana Vuksanović, a psychologist from the Montenegrin Women's Lobby, points out that it is especially important that all actors involved in the system of protection against domestic and female violence, regardless of the group, respect the important role they have in dealing with such cases. A woman who has experienced violence should be provided with the access to support and assistance at any time.

"These are the police, the center for social work and the non-government sector. Without their joint response and multisectoral cooperation, there is a lack of adequate assistance and support. If there is no reaction from any actor, the woman does not receive the support and help she is guaranteed with by international and state regulations ", Vuksanović says for CIN-CG.

According to her, women and girls from the RE population are additionally affected "due to the socio-economic situation, language barrier, discrimination in finding adequate help and support". It often happens that they are not informed about their rights and possibilities to exercise them.

Delija points out that it is necessary to strengthen the capacities of RE organizations that deal with the improvement of the position of women from the Roma and Egyptian communities, especially for the suppression of domestic violence and early arranged child marriages.

"When we talk about the RE civil sector, the fact is that there is a lack of staff. There are few organizations and activists empowered to address these issues. It is necessary to have as many RE activists as possible, to be involved in organizations like CRI. We have been working in the field for a long time and we have a women's REA network, the first network made up of Roma and Egyptian activists from several cities in Montenegro. We are in constant contact with the community itself ", Fana Delija says. 

It is necessary, she points out, to work on informing RE women.

"The most important thing is that women know who to address to if they want to report violence. More work needs to be done in the community itself to encourage women to report violence, as it is very difficult for a member of the RE population to initiate such a thing, given that she is from a poor family and depends on a male family member. Unfortunately, because of patriarchy, a large number of women think that it is normal for them to suffer violence and not to report it," Delija says.

The legal framework is improved, but the problem remains

By ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence on 1 August 2014, Montenegro became one of the first countries to commit to undertake all legislative and other measures for adoption and implementation of effective, comprehensive and coordinated state policies that include the prevention and fight against all forms of violence, so that the rights of victims are at the center of measures and are realized through the cooperation of all bodies, institutions and organizations.

In the last decade, the legal framework in Montenegro has been significantly improved, primarily with the adoption of the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, the Criminal Code, as well as the Law on Gender Equality, the Family Law, and the Law on Free Legal Aid and Social and Child Protection. In addition, the adoption of the Strategy for Protection against Domestic Violence (2016-2020) and the Action Plan for Achieving Gender Equality (2017–2021) provided a strategic framework for the implementation of policies that should respond to the challenges in this area.

The UNDP report for 2017, however, states that every other woman in Montenegro has survived at least one form of violence, which means that women from the RE population are no exception either. 

"Domestic violence, child begging and forced marriages are serious social challenges, and the lack of communication between institutions and unclear competencies still remain a major problem," this was estimated on the final conference of the project Together for Sustainable Results In Combating Domestic Violence, Child Begging and Forced Marriages organized by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM).

Serđan BAFTIJARI
Nardi AHMETOVIĆ
Teuta NURAJ

We planned to participate as a Roma community, but since the threshold for Roma has not been reduced, as it was done for the Croatian national minority, we are not able to stand for the elections. If they had reduced the threshold, I believe we would have had enough voters for one Member of Parliament", Mensur Shala, president of the newly formed Democratic Party of Roma, told CIN-CG

"The Roma community is fed up of others deciding on its behalf!"

With this exclamation, the president of the newly founded Democratic Party of Roma, Mensur Shala, in an interview with the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), admits that the authentic political representative of his people will be awaited after the parliamentary elections scheduled for August 30th.

Shala explains that the current Law on Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament prevents a party that would represent the Roma community from winning a sufficient number of votes. 

“We planned to participate as the Roma community, but since the threshold for Roma has not been reduced, as it was done for the Croatian national minority, we are not able to stand for the elections. If they had reduced the threshold, I believe we would have had enough voters for one Member of Parliament", Shala has pointed out.

According to the Law on Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament, electoral lists that received at least three percent of the total number of valid votes participate in the distribution of mandates. By applying the principle of affirmative action, parties representing minorities, primarily Bosniaks and Albanians, in the event that none of the electoral lists presenting them reach the threshold, and individually receive at least 0.7 percent of valid votes, gain the right to participate in distribution of mandates as one - collective electoral list. They are entitled to participate in the allocation of up to 3 seats then.

Due to the amendments to the election law, the parties representing the Croatian minority, due to a lower percentage of representation in the total population, are entitled to one seat if they gain 0.35% or more of the valid votes.

According to the turnout in the previous elections, the parties usually need about ten thousand votes to enter the parliament, the minority lists four times less, and the Croatian minority about a thousand.

According to the results of Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Montenegro, 6.251 persons (1.01 percent of population) have stated to belong to the Roma population, slightly more than the Croatian national minority (0.97 percent). However, data on the number of Roma eligible to vote are not available. The survey presented by CEDEM shows that, as many as 57 percent of members of this minority do not have Montenegrin citizenship.

CIN-CG's interlocutors have stated that the method for enabling authentic political participation of Roma exists but political will is also needed.

"In the last few months, since I was on the field, because of the situation with the COVID-19, they asked me in the community whether our party will stand for elections. Some of them were sure it would. They can't wait for our party to appear, to be given an opportunity to choose what we want. No one can fight for us like ourselves, because we know the best what we need ", Shala says.

Since 1998, the Law on Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament has been amended 17 times, the last time in October 2018, and the legislator has never recognized the necessity of introducing the affirmative action for the Roma community.

The initiative to enable it to this community, as it was done for the Croatian minority, was submitted to the parliament in 2018 by the members of the Coalition Together for the Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro. It was signed by Samir Jaha from the NGO Young Roma, Milan Radovic from the Civic Alliance, Dragan Koprivica from the Center for Democratic Transition, Elvis Berisha from the NGO Phiren Amenca and Fana Delija from the Center for Roma Initiatives.

Program Director for Human and Minority Rights in the Civic Alliance Milan Radovic points out for CIN-CG that this is the key moment for the Roma to have a political representative in parliament who would primarily deal with the position of that minority in the moment of democratic development in Montenegro and ask certain issues to be resolved.

Radović explains that the document requested "to enable the Roma people affirmative action, as in case of the Croatian minority, in the sense that they, as a minority can gain one parliamentary seat in a significantly smaller quota."

"We have not received an answer yet, nor this issue was discussed in the parliament", Radović points out.

Almir Tahiri, a member of the UMRE Civic Movement (United Movement of Roma and Egyptians), is the first person from the Roma community in Montenegro to graduate from the Faculty of Political Science. He believes that the state must show sensitivity to its citizens. 

"Montenegro is as much a state of Montenegrins, Serbs, Croats, Albanians and Bosniaks as it is ours. Unequal access and selective concessions cannot bring progress in either the social or the economic field. I am sure that our integration would lead to significant increase of GDP. In this regard, all those MPs who love Montenegro should initiate and support the amendment of the Law on Election of Councilors and MPs. They do not have to do it for our own sake, but for the sake of society in general and Montenegro, because by providing support to us, they provide it to their own country ", Tahiri says for CIN-CG.

Political parties represented in parliament, with the exception of Demos and the Civic Movement URA, despite a two-week insistence by CIN-CG journalists, avoided answering questions about their views on the initiative to reduce the threshold to 0.35 percent in the case of Roma, whether a party representing the Roma community would contribute to the further democratization of Montenegrin society, and whether they have representatives of this community in their parties.

In DEMOS, they say, they are aware of the extremely difficult position of Roma in Montenegro. They believe that the principle of affirmative action, applied to the Croatian national minority, should also be applied to the Roma. They believe that the Roma party would contribute to better protection of Roma interests and "reduce the possibility of abuse of the Roma population in the electoral process by the current government, and thus would contribute to the democratization of Montenegrin society."

That is why, they say, "DEMOS will support potential changes to the Law on Election of Councilors and MPs, which would enable such a solution."

The main challenges that the Roma community may face in the process of creating a party that would protect its national interests concern the expected obstructions of the ruling elite, DEMOS stated. 

"This is primarily in order to continue to secure the votes of Roma citizens by abusing the difficult economic position of Roma and state resources for election purposes," this political party explains.

The Civic Movement URA points out that their party has representatives of all nations from the last Census from 2011, including Roma and Egyptians.

"We are a party that respects and values the differences. It is important to note that we had representatives of the Roma population as candidates for councilors in the local elections in Ulcinj. Also, in the Youth Forum, we have members who are Roma ", URA said for CIN-CG.

The URA representatives believe that it is necessary to introduce amendments to the Law on Election of Councilors and MPs as soon as possible, "in order to equalize the position of Roma and Egyptians with the position of some other minority communities."

"We emphasize that according to the last population census, there are more Roma and Egyptians living in Montenegro compared to other minority communities that have a privileged electoral threshold," URA said. 

Representatives of URA also assess that "it is extremely important that Roma and Egyptians have representatives in state institutions and in political life, because otherwise there is no full integration into society."

Recalling that Roma and Egyptians are the most marginalized community in the Parliament, the Civic Movement URA assessed that "if they had their representatives in parliament, they would significantly contribute to improvements in education, health care, legal and social status, family protection, culture and information ”.

The president of the NGO Roma Hope, Mirsad Muratovic, says that now there are a sufficient number of educated people who can represent the Roma community in parliament in a professional manner.

"Twelve years ago, when I founded the NGO, there was a small number of educated members of the RE population in Montenegro. We now have a significant number of those who have completed postgraduate and master studies. We have the capacity to participate in political life and people who would be members of parliament and protect our rights," Muratovic told CIN-CG.

Mensur Shala, the president of the newly founded Roma party, announces that, in addition to insisting on reducing the threshold, he will also work on uniting young educated Roma in order to advocate for a better position of the community. He says that the plan is to talk to the deputies in the next period and open the issue of a reduced threshold, but also to prepare for the local elections in Podgorica in 2022.

"For young, educated people to be employed in ministries, to have our rights, that no one takes our places," Shala says, adding that he primarily thinks of the ministries for human and minority rights, education, labor and social welfare, and even foreign affairs. 

"So, the aim is to have members of the community who will actively participate in creation of our destiny”, Shala says.

"In order to achieve the principle of equality between ethno cultural communities in the national-state context, it is necessary to recognize the special political rights to the members of minority communities or minorities as collectives. This especially refers to the communities that have been marginalized or discriminated against for a long time, as it is the case with the Roma community, " Danijela Vukovic Calasan, in her work The Politics of Multiculturalism and Political Participation of Roma in Montenegro, states.

Political participation and representation of Roma are stated in the recommendations of the Government, the European Union, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

The Roma, despite the first step of founding the party, are still invisible on the political scene.

He advocated for the Roma party, then joined the DPS

The President of the Roma Council, Isen Gashi, who previously fiercely advocated for the authentic representation of Roma, in the meantime became a member of the Main Board of the DPS and - fell silent.

In January 2018, he told CIN-CG that it is necessary to provide a systemic solution for the authentic representation of Roma in the Montenegrin parliament and at the local level, which he sees a precondition for true integration.

"It is incomprehensible that the Roma community must provide twice as many votes for one parliamentary mandate in relation to the Croatian community. This is not a concept of civil society, it is a typical example of double standards," Gashi said at the time.

Referring to experience, he then pointed out that he was not sure that the Roma would have the support of the DPS and other parties for their demands.

"Especially if we remember the initiative of Positive Montenegro, which once submitted an amendment to provide the Roma community with a guaranteed mandate in the Montenegrin parliament, which was rejected by everyone else. "Even minority parties opposed such a request," Gashi said.

The President of the Roma Council, on November 30th last year, was elected by the DPS Congress as a member of the Main Board.

Even after several days of journalists' insistence, Gashi did not answer the questions about whether he maintains his earlier commitment to reducing the threshold and political participation of Roma and Egyptians, whether he will advocate for it as a member of the DPS leadership and whether he has already raised such an issue, why he had accepted a seat in the ruling party and whether it conflicts with the function of president of the Roma Council, which should bring together all Roma.

Serđan BAFTIJARI 

According to official UNHCR data, 360 former and internally displaced persons still have not resolved their legal status, and this problem is most widespread among the Roma and Egyptian (RE) populations. For the regular social assistance system, but also for the emergency system during the Covid-19 epidemic, they are – invisible

"God forbid that they close the market again. That would mean that we can’t to go out and work. In that case I would not be able to survive since nobody helps me” Gazmend Krueziu (53) prays while the number of people infected with Covid-19 is growing again.

But he is not the only one trying to feed a family of twelve. In Montenegro, according to official United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) data, 360 persons registered as former and internally displaced have no resolved legal status, and most are members of the Roma and Egyptian populations. Based on the results of the "field verification" conducted at the end of 2017 together with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, UNHCR estimates that about 140 persons in Montenegro are at risk of statelessness. It means a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.

Even though a large number of Roma families live in substandard conditions, many are not even formally registered as socially disadvantaged. According to a survey conducted by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM), only 28.6 percent of these households are beneficiaries of family material support (FMS/MOP). Families like Gazmend`s are doubly endangered: not only they do not get the support from funds due to unresolved legal status, but they don’t get the emergency assistance as well.

"This team helped me to get Kosovo citizenship, but I failed to resolve my residence in Montenegro. I contacted the Legal Center several times, but they couldn't help either. Everyone else got the apartments except me because I don’t have a resolved legal status. I don't work anywhere, and neither do my children. The eldest son is 23 years old.  A proof of residence is required for every single job. I registered the children in the birth certificates with two witnesses by mother's surname because she also has Kosovo citizenship. We live in a rented apartment. I need at least 100 EUR a month for a rent and bills, otherwise I will end up on the street”, Krueziu says. 

The previous period, as he says, was very difficult for him and his family. The police returned him home twice when he tried to collect and sell secondary raw materials from a landfill near the informal settlement where he lives.

"Everyone was given food and hygiene packages, except me. I have never received one. When they handed out packages from the Roma Council, they said it was only for domicile Roma. The Government helped those who receive social benefits and who are registered at the Employment Agency of Montenegro (EAM). I couldn’t get any of that either. I hope that someone will help me and my family, as well as others who are in the same situation to get the documents so that we can live a better life", Krueziu says. 

Half-younger Emra Morinaj (27) from Kosovo, a father of four, says they have survived the previous months thanks to neighbors.

"If it weren't for them, we would be starving. We weren’t allowed go out and work. I don't know who to ask for help. Once they gave me potatoes and macaroni from the Red Cross, and I am thankful for that," Morinaj says.

His children were born in Podgorica, but he is still waiting for a permanent residence permit.

"I have also addressed the Ministry of the Interior several times. They asked me for some documents from the border and from Kosovo. I obtained all those documents, but I still cannot resolve the status in Montenegro. My son is enrolled in the first grade this year, and the twins are attending kindergarten. I'm just asking that my family and I get the status. When I resolve that, I will have everything ", Morinaj says for CIN-CG.

He points out that he is aware that within the RE populations there are those who are in even worse position. 

"I'm young so I can go out and do whatever I can, but there are people who are old and sick. I am sure that the previous period was tougher for them. Assistance from social and employment agency in the amount of 50 EUR would be important for us as well, because we were prevented from working ", Morinaj explains.

According to the officially published data, the Government of Montenegro paid a one-off assistance of EUR 50 within the measures for mitigating the impact of COVID-19 for 17,078 persons registered at the Employment Agency of Montenegro on March 31, 2020. On average, there are about thousand people of the RE population registered at the EAM. 8,583 FMS beneficiaries, including Roma and Egyptians, also received 50 EUR each.

Addressing the issue of displaced persons from the former Yugoslav states and internally displaced persons from Kosovo residing in Montenegro is part of the negotiations with the European Union, within Chapter 23 - "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights". Back in July 2011, the government adopted a strategy according to which this was supposed to have been done in 2015. Then they estimated that the work was not finished, so they set the end of 2019 as a new deadline but this one wasn’t met either. 

"In the period from November 7, 2009, when the Law on Amending the Law on Foreigners entered into force, up until and including December 31, 2019, displaced and internally displaced persons submitted 15,237 applications for approval of permanent residence and temporary residence for up to three years. Out of this number, 15,050 requests have been resolved, while 187 requests are in progress. Of the 15,050 resolved cases, for 12,366 persons the application was approved and they were granted a permanent residence, or temporary for up to three years; 286 requests were denied, while 2,398 cases were rejected, i.e. the procedure was suspended (double or incomplete requests) ", Dina Knežević, the Advisor at Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, explains for CIN-CG.

According to her, persons who have not exercised the right to submit a request for regulation of permanent residence and temporary residence have been staying illegally in Montenegro since January 1, 2015.

Elvis Berisha, the executive director of the youth organization Walk with us - Phiren amenca, says that several families have asked them for help. 

"In a short period of time, in the territory of Podgorica alone, more than 38 persons who have not resolved their legal status have been identified. As a result, they were unable to use the assistance provided by the Government. With the support of the UNDP, in the coming period, our organization will provide assistance to these families in food, but also when enrolling children in educational institutions", Berisha says.

The Roma Council does not remember him, but…

Although the Roma Council does not remember "Mr. Gazmend Krueziu", they claim that statement is incorrect or is a "product of ignorance".

"Honestly, I can’t remember the person. I can claim, as a member of the Roma Council, that in cooperation with Red Cross assistants, with the support of the Podgorica Capital City and NGO Help, we distributed a total of 1,300 packages for all Roma and Egyptians, both domicile and those without resolved legal status at the territory of Podgorica", Mensur Salja, a member of the Roma Council, told CIN-CG, listing all the settlements where they distributed help, including the informal settlement of Vrela BB and Šatorsko naselje. According to Salja, "families of Djukatani, Berisha and others in informal settlements inhabited by not domicile persons who have received help from donors can confirm this…"

Adnan Djukatani confirmed to CIN-CG that the Roma Council distributed packages to him and his brothers.

"During the Covid-19, when we were prevented from working, we were given two food and hygiene packages from the Roma Council. Also, they distributed flour to us and I am thankful to them", Djukatani, who lives in the same settlement as Krueziu, said.

He and his brothers, however, have the status of foreigner nationals with permanent residence, which is not the same.

In another conversation with a CIN-CG journalist, Gazmen Kruzeiu was categorical that he did not receive any help that others did. His neighbor Besim Hajrizi, who also has no resolved legal status, confirmed that he did not receive help either.

"When the Roma Council handed out packages, I wasn’t given any. They shared it with all my neighbors who have citizenship. They told me I would be given in the second round. But they did not come again", Besim Hajrizi told CIN-CG.

243 apartments have been built, additional 96 to be built

According to the 2011 Census of population, households and dwellings in Montenegro, 6,251 persons stated to have Roma nationality (1.01 percent of the total population), while the Egyptian population numbers 2,054 persons (0.33 percent). Most Roma lived in the territory of Podgorica (3988), followed by Berane (531), Nikšić (483), Bijelo Polje (334), Herceg Novi (258). The largest number of Egyptians is in Podgorica (685), Niksic (446), Tivat (335) and Berane (170). The settlements inhabited by Roma and Egyptians are located on the outskirts of cities.

Through the regional housing program, 243 apartments were built in the capital's suburb Konik for people from Kosovo who came to Montenegro in 1999.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare promised that in the next two years, 96 more apartments for displaced persons will be built in Podgorica's settlement of Konik, stating that the money for construction, worth 3.5 million EUR, was provided through the Regional Housing Program.

Serđan BAFTIJARI

Numerous works were either fictive or overcharged, lower quality material was used in construction but invoiced as top quality and hence more expensive, experts claim. Wassertechnik Essen LLC has already pocketed around €42 million and requests another €35.34 million to be paid, which is vigorously contested by Budva Municipality. Furthermore, international arbitrations will cost Budva millions of euros. Special Prosecution Office has launched “inquiries” that drag on indefinitely

Invoices for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Becici are inflated by more than €20 million according to those involved in the project and the findings of two independent experts. The allegations are further corroborated by various documents that the Centre for Investigative Journalism in Montenegro (CIN-CG), Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Monitor had access to.

Furthermore, Budva Municipality has not solved the key environmental problem as only the central part of the municipality is connected to the newly constructed plant. The sewage from the territory of Jaz, Petrovac and Buljarica continues to flow into the sea untreated, while the sewerage system for Montenegro’s top brand and tourist destination Sveti Stefan (Saint Stephen) has not been built.

Three million euros were stolen from the municipal treasury through a false invoice before the construction even began as court documents and verdicts show. Moreover, Slovenian expert Dr Joze Duhovnik, hired by the opposition led local government since October 2016 election, claims that €41.4 million invoiced by the German company WasserTechnik Essen (WTE) should be reduced by €12,629 million. That’s how much the Germans overcharged according to him. Financial expert Ilinka Vukovic, hired by the Municipality and later on by the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) discovered other controversial invoices with the amount in dispute exceeding €3,5 million. Furthermore, the management costs for the facility were overcharged between €500 to €700 thousand annually during five and a half years when WTE operated the plant.

The city of Budva is at risk to lose additional tens of millions in the launched international arbitrations over mounting disputes with the Germans. The first arbitration is due to begin on 9 February 2021 in Frankfurt. WTE collected so far between €12.5 and €13.8 million for its services to the Municipality (the exact figure is a matter of dispute) and activated the Government of Montenegro guarantee of €29.3 million. WTE claims another €35.34 million. The second arbitration will take place in Geneva. The litigations’ costs will be an extra burden to the embattled municipal treasury.

However, so far no one has been held accountable for the inflated invoices, fictive works and services, and the instalment of cheaper and poorer quality material and equipment. The exception is the aforementioned theft of the first €3 million confessed in the plea agreement by the then vice president of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the informal ruler of Budva, Svetozar Marovic. Three of his former associates also accepted the plea agreement with the SPO.

The plea agreement reveals that the money was used to repay Marovic’s private debt to a certain businessman Gojko Kapisoda. The prosecutor and the court were extremely lenient and sentenced Marovic to only three months in prison. Shockingly, neither the SPO nor the High Court ordered Marovic to return the stolen millions to the Municipality under the terms of the plea agreement. Moreover, Marovic avoided prison having moved to Belgrade where he lives now. The then executive of the local WTE Wastewater Budva Guenter Faust who made the fake invoice and redirected the money to Marovic got away with his crime having become the witness-collaborator for the prosecution.

The Special Prosecution Office appeals to “ongoing inquiries” when asked about responsibility for not prosecuting other criminal offences in regard to the water treatment project.

Milking the Municipality

The German company WTE signed on 8 July 2009 a so-called DBFO (design-build-finance-operate) contract with the Municipality of Budva on the construction of three wastewater treatment plants in Becici, Jaz and Buljarica, as well as a sewerage system in Sveti Stefan. The overall capacity was to serve the population of 130 thousand. The value of the project was €58.56 million plus interest and variable costs, on condition that the total investment shall not exceed the tender prescribed limit of €85 million. The contract also provided for annual management costs of €1.7 million until 2042 while Budva was to repay the investment by 2034. The project was only partly completed when the water treatment plant in Becici began its trial operation in July 2014. It was officially opened in early October 2014.

Two months after concluding the contract, the Germans founded a subsidiary company WTE Wastewaters LLC Budva which signed a €61 million loan agreement with her parent company in Essen in early June 2010 to finance the project.

To ensure that the work would be properly done, the Germans handed over to the Municipality a guarantee from Bayerische Landesbank of Nuremberg (issued on 9 July 2009) for the amount of €4.25 million. It was valid until 8 July 2014. The then local DPS controlled city council did not ask for an extension. A former municipal official, who wanted to remain anonymous, explained to CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor that the Germans offered not to insist on immediate payment of the already accumulated invoices if the locals would forget the bank guarantee. At the time the treasury of Budva was empty.

On the other hand, the government lodged a payment guarantee for the amount of €29.3 million on 16 October 2010. It covered 50% of the overall basic investment and it was payable on first call and without the right to protest. Moreover, five months earlier, the then mayor Rajko Kuljaca issued a payment guarantee for the amount of up to €66 million. However, he neither had the formal consent of the Government nor the decision of the local city council, as the law prescribed. WTE activated the government issued guarantee on 18 December 2019, while the mayor’s guarantee is the subject of international arbitration in Frankfurt.

Interlocutors of CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor, who were previously highly positioned in the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), claim that the water treatment project was "preceded by an agreement between Svetozar Marovic and the state (and the ruling party) leadership". Marovic owed money to private individuals. Two of them confirmed it to CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor on the condition of anonymity. Marovic also owed money to First Bank owned by Aco Djukanovic, the brother of the then Prime Minister and now President Milo Djukanovic. The interlocutors from the DPS said that eventually it was "agreed" to include the water treatment facility in Becici in the scheme whereby Marovic’s debts would be returned through fictive and "many times inflated invoices at the expense of quality and volume of works". Allegedly the Germans agreed to that.

The press service of President Djukanovic categorically denied the existence of such an agreement. "No, no such idea was ever brought up. And if it was, it would certainly not be accepted" is said in the reply sent to CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor.

Marovic refused to respond to the allegations of his former party colleagues. The representative of the investor also denied allegations of corruption. First Bank replied that their representatives "neither had knowledge, nor took part in the agreements you mentioned”. The Bank wouldn’t answer on whether Marovic and Property Investments have settled their debts, if there was any outstanding debt and about the collaterals for the loans. The Bank appealed to the legally binding confidentiality and non-disclosure clauses.

However, Marovic's plea agreement with the SPO, and the WTE invoices sent to Budva Municipality that CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor had access to, confirm some of the allegations from our DPS sources.

Skyrocket invoices- from land clearance to maintenance

Soon after the opposition won Budva in October 2016 election, it turned out that the €3 million theft was just one of many.

The then newly elected mayor Dragan Krapovic told CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor that their first challenge was to find the project documents which disappeared after the DPS stepped down. "We couldn’t find even the basic DBFO contract as the SPO prosecutors carried away the documentation without receipt and they wouldn’t return it either. The archive was in disarray".

The municipality managed to obtain some documents and then launched a review. "Dr Joze Duhovnik from Slovenia was chosen for the job. He had impressive international references," says Krapovic.

Suspicious invoices began to emerge.

Thus, at the very beginning of the project the land clearance was charged €56,195, or €2.5/m², which is at least 20 times the usual price. The clearance included the mowing of grass, removing of shrubbery, trees and stumps on the plot intended for the plant on an area of ​​22,478m². Entrepreneurs contacted by CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor gave the land clearing quotes from 7c to 10c /m² depending on the size of the area. They even offered discounts for large plots.

Djordjije Vujovic, a City Council member in Budva, told CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor that already back in 2011 he heard from a director of Tradeunique (WTE's subcontractor) that they had paid €6 thousand in cash to workers from Ulcinj and that "the investor inflated the invoice by 50 thousand before sending it to Budva Municipality". At the joint meeting in the office of the then mayor Lazar Radjenovic, Vujovic directly asked Ralf Schroder, the executive director of WTE Essen, whether it was true that Marovic's debt of €5 million to the aforesaid Kapisoda would be returned through the project.

"Schroder angrily replied that they were Germans, that they valued money and that he would not talk about it anymore," says Vujovic.

Soon afterwards another bloated invoice arrived- for the earthworks and terrain leveling.

"The supervision verified something that was not done. After the geodetic survey, we determined lower costs and reduced the value of the actual works by €700 thousand" explains Duhovnik in the interview with CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor.

He points out that the works on the equipment in the water treatment facility were bloated by €5,282,218.27. “The technical book defines the quality of the equipment and the building materials. However, on the ground we found low quality, poorer properties of the equipment and of the material itself. The pipelines were already cracking. They installed armature for cheaper pumps (25-30%) as they require less material. However, the supervision approved the price as though the stuff was of the best quality".

The Slovenian team led by Duhovnik found out that the construction works on the plant were inflated by €2.92 million, the project documentation by €1.613 million, and the building permits by €0.922 million. The Slovenians also disputed €1.89 million for the payment of internal supervision of the German company.

"By law, the project supervision should be paid by the Municipality as it is the most important part in the carrying out of the project. In this case WTE paid its internal supervision, which confirmed figures that WTE wanted. At the end, the invoice was sent to the Municipality to pay it, which is unheard of and against the law" explains Dr Duhovnik to CIN-CG/BIRN /Monitor.

WTE Wastewater Budva, led by Guenter Faust at the time, continued to send suspicious invoices while expecting the Municipality to pay them at face value. Financial expert Ilinka Vukovic states on page 99 of her report that “while reviewing the WTE documentation that was extracted by the prosecution office, I had a chance to see an invoice in the total amount of €3,145,000 for the expenses and dues to the parent company (in Essen), while its description includes different types of "meetings and negotiations ..."

The aforesaid invoice (dated October 2009 - September 2010) contains generic descriptions with conspicuously large and round figures: organizational concept draft- €350 thousand, negotiations with the Municipality of Budva - €200 thousand, creation of a letter of guarantee - €420 thousand, specifying details of other contracts - €270 thousand, loan facilitation - €360 thousand, defining of payment terms - €230 thousand, ongoing trade consulting and development - €300 thousand, technical concept development - €790 thousand, technical negotiations with the Municipality of Budva - €155 thousand and project management - €70 thousand. In total - €3.145 million.

"You can instantly see that something is wrong with that invoice. Corruption stinks. You have the project management - 70 thousand, then other figures - 300, 350 thousand ... WTE obviously thought we were fools ", says Djordjije Vujovic.

Another problematic WTE invoice of €535,095.99 was sent to the Municipality for the talks held with KfW-IPEX Bank from October 10, 2014 to October 29, 2015. Vukovic's report says that the talks didn’t lead to a loan approval for the project. WTE was simply doing "a market research without consent from the Municipality of Budva” which mandated the project. Therefore, WTE should have paid the cost.

However, the city of Budva had its own supervisor for the project - the company Pro-Ing LLC Novi Sad (Serbia) which signed the supervision contract worth €678,600 on 19 October 2011. The company’s founder and director Goran Vukobratovic told CIN-CG/ BIRN/Monitor that he disagreed with Duhovnik's findings. He believes that Pro-Ing did a good job for Budva.

"Keep in mind that Pro-Ing only supervised the construction works. We were not responsible for the management costs and the control of financial costs. Furthermore, we are not responsible for the invoices sent before we got the supervision", says Vukobratovic.

However, Mrs Vukovic in her report points to a controversial role of Pro-Ing Novi Sad, because Vukobratovic "was a member of the (tender) commission and among those who signed the minutes after the opening of the bids". Mrs Vukovic notes that Vukobratovic was mentioned as a consultant for the tender while it was being prepared.

She further writes that besides the company in Novi Sad Vukobratovic has another Pro-Ing Trade LLC Budva where he is the sole founder. Pro-Ing Trade has done business with WTE Wastewaters Budva for years. "That is an obvious conflict of interests" concludes Mrs Vukovic in her report.

CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor received invoices which Pro-Ing Trade LLC Budva sent to WTE for "making of audit report for obtaining a construction permit for WWTP Budva, including the entire sewerage network and pumping stations in the municipality". One invoice in the amount of €100,800 was issued on 19 May 2011, before the parent company signed the supervision contract. The second invoice in the amount of €39,312 was issued on 27 December 2011, which is after the supervision contract was signed. In response, Vukobratovic claims that "there was no conflict of interests in those two separate jobs".

"Feel free to check with MORT (Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism) if a company can work for another company and at the same time supervise the work of that company on behalf of another entity. You have an example of VODACOM which is an ongoing project in Kotor and Tivat ", notes Vukobratovic.

He also says that he can’t see a conflict of interests in the fact that he was on the tender commission team which opened and evaluated the bids. "The tender called for a concept to be proposed, not a detailed design. Thus I was not acquainted beforehand with the project details that I was later meant to supervise. The conflict of interests would exist if I had taken part in the drafting of the concept of which I certainly was not privy”.

Duhovnik says that those explanations are "typical Balkan style" stressing that "in any normal country, this would be recognised as a conflict of interests".

Germans and Austrians keep silent as they await arbitration to deliberate on their claim

Stefan Zach, the communications manager of the Austrian EVN Group which owns WTE Ltd, acknowledges the competence of Dr Duhovnik but prefers not to comment his findings.

“We will present our objections to Duhovnik’s report before the arbitration court in Geneva” replied Zach to CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor.

Speaking of allegations for corruption and the facility’s poor quality, Mr Zach points out that “prosecutors checked the company and the plant several times and didn’t find anything against WTE despite numerous public accusations”. He further says that “the facility does work” and that “WTE has done a good job”. However, he admits that the facilities in Jaz and Buljarica were not built “because the municipal authorities sold the land for construction of hotels”. This is vehemently denied by the former mayor Krapovic who says that “it is very easy to check and find the opposite”.

Krapovic also stresses the problem of management costs of €1.7 million per year (as defined by the DBFO contract) which the Germans charged for since July 2014 and expected to be paid in full.

“We told them that we were not going to pay the management costs for the non-existent facilities in Jaz and Buljarica. Then Schutte offered me to lower the price from €1.7 to €1.2 million, given that we make a deal on some other (controversial) points” says Krapovic.

Hubertus Schutte succeeded Guenter Faust as the executive of WTE Wastewater Budva who left upon discovery of his role in the first €3 million theft.

Budva’s Secretariat for Investments told CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor that the projected annual management costs for the plant in Becici amounted to €993 thousand, which is considerably less than €1.7 million invoiced by the Germans.

Stefan Zach says that WTE-EVN claims €77 million in total, which is how much the wastewater project in Becici (Budva) cost them. He denies that WTE tried to charge for the facilities it didn’t build (Jaz and Buljarica). “Our principle is to charge for what we have built and not for what might have been” says Mr Zach.

Budva’s attorney Vladan Bojic explains in the interview with CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor that “WTE-EVN launched the arbitration in Frankfurt at the end of 2019 over the guarantee signed by Kuljaca (Budva’s former DPS mayor). Just the fees, administrative costs, motions and other preparations before the hearing in February will cost the city half a million US dollars. The arbitration in Frankfurt may eventually cost us between $1.5 and $2 million. They also launched the arbitration in Geneva over alleged breach of DBFO contract, just in case they fail in Frankfurt”.

CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor asked Montenegro’s President Djukanovic whether he took any measures, since at the time he was Prime Minister, to ensure that WTE completes the investment in accordance with the contract given the lodged guarantee of €29.3 million. The President’s press service contacted the Ministry of Finance and sent us its reply. It says that “since the payment of the said guarantee, the government has not followed developments about the WTE project in Budva Municipality”. The statement further says that efforts are made to resolve the question of municipal debt to the national governement as a consequence of the payment it had made.

“Now the project and its follow-up is a matter of the parties thereto from the start and onwards. So the Municipality and WTE should reconsider and agree on all the aspects of cooperation” recommends the Ministry of Finance.

When the then Prime Minister Djukanovic cut the ribbon on 2 October 2014 he pointed out that the new facility would make the marine resources of Budva and Montenegro “cleaner, better and richer”. On behalf of the German company its director Franc Mittermeier stressed that the plant was constructed “in accordance with international standards”.

However, the ceremony was clouded by the facts that the plant in Becici (meant to serve the population of up to 90 thousand) was only one part of the agreed project. The facility lacked the certificate of occupancy which arrived half a year later for only a quarter of the building. The documentation was incomplete and the facility was not entirely registered in the cadastre.

Six years on and the sea on the coasts of Budva is still away from “better and cleaner”. Spanish Iberostar Bellevue hotel told CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor that it pressed charges in court against WTE following the incident in July 2019 when sewage was directly discharged for 24 hours into the sea between two 5-star hotels in Becici. Iberostar demands €1 million compensation and complains that WTE wouldn’t take calls from the hotel, let alone do something to stop the spilling. Occasionally the stench from the plant still pervades its vicinity and descends to the hotels on the shore. The semi-solid sludge which remains after the sewage treatment is not treated itself as that was never envisaged by the original contract. CIN-CG earlier reported that the sludge is taken to Albania and offloaded in wild waste dumps. The floating oil and grease from the facility occasionally stained the sea in Budva and Becici last summer. The problem is solved by the instalment of a new reduction gearbox in the plant – and paid by the city again.

Petrovac, Jaz, Buljarica and Sveti Stefan still discharge their untreated sewage into the open sea which the sea currents and winds send back to the coast.

Budva is not the only disputed case

Mr Zach emphasises that in the last 20 years WTE-EVN has completed 110 projects in 20 countries but they “never had problems like the one in Budva”.

Nonetheless, WTE-EVN projects are not going smoothly in other countries either. In Slovenia WTE has three disputes – Kranjska Gora is in the courts, the Lasko Brewery won the case, and Bled ended in a settlement. It is possible that another dispute may arise in Sentjernej.

In North Macedonia problems were resolved through interstate discussions at the highest level.

A dispute in Bulgaria was resolved by the arbitration in Washington, in which both sides were awarded smaller sums than they had asked for.

Reuters Agency in 2014 announced that EVN was planning to activate a €251 million guarantee from the German government after the collapse of a WTE incinerator project near Moscow.

 Three million euro talk over a cup of coffee

In January 2016, police arrested Guenter Faust, the director of WTE Wastewaters Budva. He was released 72 hours later. In his capacity as a witness-collaborator, Faust confessed on 1 May 2016 to the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) that Lazar Radjenovic had told him over a cup of coffee in the Budva café Hemingway that “it would be necessary to pay €3 million through a construction company which was yet to be chosen”. The lot fell on Tradeunique whose owner was Mirko Latinovic – later to become a witness-collaborator against Marovic. Faust admitted that the €3 million “originates from the company WTE itself, with calculations which relate to project and servicing costs… Given the overall amount of the project (€60 million) and the fact that WTE spends around €6 million a year, I consider this amount of €3 million to be not very large… and for this very reason the Municipality of Budva will also pay this €3 million”.

In his earlier midnight statement on 14/15 January 2016, when he was taken in as a suspect, Faust said before the SPO that Robert Werth, his senior in Germany “granted permission to conclude the contract with Tradeunique”.

The sums that the accused admitted to in the almost identical plea bargains do not match each other mathematically. Moreover, the SPO did not extend its investigation so to prosecute WTE bosses in Germany.

It is stated in the plea agreements that, during the period from 21 June 2010 to 28 March 2013 in Budva, Svetozar Marovic incited Lazar Radjenovic, then the vice-president of the municipality, Mirko Latinovic, owner of Tradeunique LLC from Budva, and its executive director Goran Bojanic to abuse their official positions. The aim was to extract €3 million from the Municipality of Budva and use the money “to pay off the debts of the company Property Investments and of Svetozar Marovic” to Gojko Kapisoda. Marovic was the head and founder of the criminal organisation.

Property Investments was already linked to the Marovic family and its businesses.

Thus Bojanic concluded “a contract for engineering services, maintenance and construction of a channel” on behalf of Tradeunique, with Guenter Faust of WTE Wastewaters Budva who was following the instructions of Radjenovic, who in turn had been instructed by Marovic.

At the same time Bojanic signed a contract with the firm Biochem Industries LLC Budva, owned by Stjepan Skocajic (also the skipper of Marovic’s yacht) for “design and engineering services worth €3 million, even though he knew that its contracted work would not be carried out by Biochem Industries, but by WTE Wastewaters”.

Then Radjenovic transferred money from the municipality’s account to WTE Wastewaters’ account, and Guenter forwarded the money to Tradeunique’s account. Bojanic then, on the orders of Mirko Latinovic, transferred the first €2.808 million to the account of Skocajic’s firm. Later on he transferred the sums of €200 thousand, €100 thousand and €50 thousand. On Marovic’s order, Skocajic transferred the sum of €2.4 million to Gojko Kapisoda’s account to pay off the debts of Marovic and Property Investments per a loan agreement from 2008.

Thus, as it is concluded in the plea agreements with the SPO, Svetozar Marovic and the firm Property Investments obtained “illegal gain of €2.4 million, and Stjepan Skocajic obtained the sum of €277 thousand”. Skocajic withdrew the aforesaid €277 thousand from the account of Biochem Industries, either for his own needs (as is written in the plea bargain with Marovic), or else he “handed it over to M.R. to settle the expenses of the company Property Investments that had arisen over the sale of land” (as is written in the plea bargain signed by Skocajic). Thereby the accused “defrauded the Municipality of Budva of €3 million”, it is concluded in the plea agreements.

The SPO says “inquiries still under way”

When asked by CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor about the affair with the water treatment plant, the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) sent a scant reply after much waiting saying that “plea agreements were concluded with the accused Svetozar Marovic and Dragoljub Milanovic..., after which the plea bargains were confirmed by the High Court in Podgorica, and this resulted in the return of illegal gain to the Municipality of Budva amounting to €1,096,481.39”. The SPO also stated that it was still “conducting necessary inquiries”.

The municipality denies that the money has been returned, and the previous mayor Mr Krapovic says that the sum mentioned by the SPO has nothing to do with the WTE plant but with the Copyright case, in which the Municipality of Budva was defrauded of €3.86 million through a series of fictional contracts regarding promotional marketing of the city and the induced court settlement. Moreover, the aforementioned Milanovic also had no part in the WTE scheming. He was the executive director of Gugi Komerc and involved in the affair related to the paving of the plateau on Jaz Beach, where the mega-concerts of the Rolling Stones and Madonna were held.

Krapovic’s allegation is confirmed by the plea agreements published on the SPO’s website. Svetozar Marovic, under item “d” (one of a total of five criminal offences) was convicted of abuse of office by means of incitement to commit crimes in an organised manner in the case of the WTE plant. For the criminal offences a, b, c and d in the plea agreement, as the architect and head of multimillion-euro theft, he received a sentence of one year in prison in total. Thus it turns that he got three months per offence. Marovic undertook to return €1,096,481.39 of illegal gain which his criminal organisation had made, but this was for point “c” of the plea agreement for the Copyright affair.

The Special Prosecution, according to the agreement signed with Marovic on 9 June 2016, did not require him to return the €3 million. Neither did the High Court, which adopted the agreement in an unamended form.

The Municipality’s attorney Vladan Bojic, states in his interview with CIN-CG/BIRN/Monitor that the behaviour of the judiciary in this case is unheard of.  “If you hold up a kiosk and steal a few small items you will get at least six months in jail, while Marovic stole millions. Many citizens would agree to serve three months in prison, not for €3 million, but for €300 thousand or even for €30 thousand” said Bojic.

For item “e” of this agreement, Marovic received another 12 months for fraud (later reduced to 10 months). It relates to the case when locals sold land in Kamenovo through his firm Property Investments for €7.5 million. By means of a forged signature, that money was used as collateral for a loan with Prva Banka for Marovic’s firm. In the plea agreement signed on 16 May 2016, he received another two years in jail and the obligation to pay a fine of €50,000 for other multimillion thefts. Before this he had spent five months in the pre-trial detention in Spuz. Thus he yet has to serve the remaining 3 years and 5 months of his overall sentence.

Lazar Radjenovic, Stjepan Skocajic and Goran Bojanic also signed plea bargains as members of Marovic’s criminal organisation. Mirko Latinovic and Guenter Faust were granted the status of witnesses-collaborators, thereby avoiding criminal prosecution.

Radjenovic, in a plea bargain concluded on 16 May 2015, admitted two criminal offences, one for the WTE water treatment plant and the other for the Copyright case. He was sentenced to a total of six months, or three months per offence, the same what his criminal boss Marovic got.

Goran Bojanic and Stjepan Skocajic were each sentenced to six months in prison, twice as much as their “inciter” and criminal boss Marovic.

Skocajic’s firm Biochem Industries LLC Budva was convicted, according to the same plea agreement, as a legal entity and ordered to pay a fine of €100,000 suspended for one year. The High Court agreed with this on 12 September 2017.

Jovo MARTINOVIĆ