Podgorica (18 February 2011) – In spite of all the evidence and documentation that MANS has revealed in the past few weeks, the Government of Montenegro concluded at yesterday’s session that the tender process for Valdanos was undertaken in a transparent way and in accordance with the law.
The documentation made available by MANS clearly shows that Britain’s Cubus Lux was in no position to win the tender for Valdanos. We personally handed all this information to Prime Minister Igor Lukšić and requested that he immediately convene a session of the Privatization Council to reconsider whole affair.
Unfortunately, the eventual stance of the Government and PM Lukšić in relation to the obvious violations of the tender procedures in this affair leave no room for faint hopes that this new Government will reverse its predecessor’s irresponsible privatization of Montenegro’s property and resources.
In relation to the Valdanos affair specifically, Lukšić has shown that he not only lacks the strength to resist the private interests that captured this process, but that he also lacks the fundamental desire to consider the concrete evidence and unassailable facts in this case.
We’re sad to see that the government’s new policy of working transparently is only an act that is being put on for the benefit of the domestic and international public. Thus, in the face of his first major challenge, PM Lukšić has decided to continue with his predecessor’s practice by hiding information and manipulating the public.
The government and the Privatization Council are still hiding all the relevant information relating to Cubus Lux, while Vice President Vujica Lazović is still refusing to explain how it was exactly that this company won the tender when all the evidence shows that it was in no position to even qualify as a candidate!
MANS will call next week on the Parliamentary Commission for Monitoring and Controlling the Privatization Process to consider the Valdanos affair, including carrying out an examination of the Privatization Council’s documentation – information currently being withheld from the public. We will also ask that the Commission hold hearings with the current President of the Privatization Council Igor Lukšić on the context in which the tender for Valdanos’ long-term lease was implemented.
MANS has already filed criminal charges against Lazović, accompanied by substantial documentation. However, the Chief State Prosecutor has yet to make a statement on these charges even though they relate to an affair that could have multiple negative consequences for the public interest.
MANS will continue to monitor this affair in order to identify the real motives of Vice President Vujica Lazović and his team in granting the long-term lease for Valdanos to Cubus Lux.
