(Podgorica, 29 March 2011) – The Government of Montenegro and the Council for Privatization and Capital Projects persists with attempts to conceal crucial information tied to the tender for the long-term lease of Valdanos. This was illustrated once again by the Council’s latest decision to bar access to key information about the tender.
After more than a month after a complaint was filed before the Administrative Court, the Privatization Council finally responded to our request for access to the Valdanos tender documentation. In the decision signed by the Council’s Deputy President, Vujica Lazović, MANS is prohibited from accessing information related to Cubus Lux’s bid.
In particular, access was requested to documentation that would allegedly show that Cubus Lux had realized profits for at least three years, that it had an annual turnover in excess of 100-million euros, and that it had signed a Letter of Intent with a reputable travel operator. Lazović’s response also bars access to information related to Cubus Lux’s investment plan and alleged banking guarantees, which were also criteria for assessing the bid.
In justifying his decision, Lazović explained that the documentation requested by MANS is actually the intellectual property of Cubus Lux and that the company had on 4 March 2011 requested that the entirety of the documentation it submitted for the tender be returned to it as a result.
In his decision, Lazović also ‘predicted’ what he MANS would do with the documents requested, i.e. that we would “hand it over to third parties, release it to the press, etc.” which “could seriously bring into question the rights and interests of the interested foreign partner.”
Lazović failed to mention that the financial statements of companies like Cubus Lux are, according to Montenegrin and British laws, public documents that everyone can access. They therefore cannot be considered exclusive intellectual property to which access is restricted. This is especially the case since the financial statements in question represented the conditions for Cubus Lux qualifying for the Valdanos tender in the first place.
It would be useful for the public to be able to compare Cubus Lux’s performance data, which is publicly accessible on MANS’ website, with the data that the company actually submitted to the Tender Commission (and on the basis of which Cubus Lux was found to be a valid partner in the Valdanos deal). We believe that such a comparison could establish whether or not someone at the Tender Commission chose to ignore the fact that Cubus Lux was a money-losing company or if it was Cubus Lux that submitted false information to the Commission.
When making his decision, Lazović failed to implement the mandatory hazard test, as stipulated in the Law on Free Access to Information, which would demonstrate whether the public interest in knowing is greater than the eventual damage that could be caused to Cubus Lux.
Unfortunately, with this type of decision, Lazović continues to perpetuate the Government of Montenegro’s catastrophic policies when it comes to the level of transparency in privatizing and selling public assets. Key information necessary for establishing the legality of such procedures continues to be hidden from the Montenegrin public. Nevertheless, we are optimistic that citizens will eventually learn the truth of the matter given the criminal charges filed by MANS against Lazović for his role in the Valdanos tender.
MANS will definitely continue to insist on transparency in the Valdanos case, while today it has posted on its website the chronology of this case study (www.mans.co.me). The case study, which was translated into English, will be submitted to the European Union delegation, the US embassy, and all the embassies of EU countries in Podgorica. The full case study can be found at: http://www.mans.co.me/odrzivi-razvoj/studije-slucajeva/valdanos/.
Dejan Milovac
Deputy Executive Director
