In the pre-election period, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism significantly increased expenditures for the construction of local infrastructure and buildings, or on those budget items that were previously frequently used for exercising political influence and advantage in the field, according to official documents analyzed by MANS Investigation Center and the daily Dan.
The Ministry is headed by the former political director of the DPS Branimir Gvozdenovic
According to data published by Gvozdenovic’s Ministry in accordance with the Law on Financing Political Entities and Electoral Campaigns, a significant budget increase can be observed in July and August at items 4412 (expenditures for local infrastructure) and 4413 (expenditures on buildings). For this purpose, in the period from 12 July, when parliamentary elections were called and the election campaign officially began, until the end of August spent less than €2.3 million.
Meanwhile, separate data from the Ministry of Finance from the SAP system, as seen per month, show that the Ministry’s budget for the two items in April amounted to around €586,000. In May, it was around €570,000 and in June, close to €730,000. By 12 July, Gvozdenovic’s department allocated €737,000 for expenditures on local infrastructure and buildings. After 12 July and the announcement of the election, the expenses were increased by millions. Thus, by the end of July, €602,000 was paid, while in August the sum rose to €1.6 million.
It is clear from those data that in only a month and a half of the pre-election period the Ministry spent almost as much as in three and a half months, before the Montenegrin president called the parliamentary elections. That means that expenditures in the election period were increased manifold.
The Directorate of Public Works, which is under the authority of the Ministry, mainly occurs as the contracting authority for works on local infrastructure and buildings.
According to publicly available data, some of the contracted works that the Directorate carries out in the current period or is just beginning to carry out are the reconstruction of roads in Zabljak, Savnik and Rozaje, promenade along the river Tara in Mojkovac, reconstruction of urban roads in Andrijevica, where the local elections will be held simultaneously with the state elections.
MANS Investigation Center earlier repeatedly pointed out that the infrastructure works was one of the most common mechanisms in election periods used for the exercise of political promotion and the influence on the electoral will of the voters, which is particularly evident in the north of the country, as a very underdeveloped area.
Numerous abuses of state resources for electoral purposes are documented in the „Snimak“ (Tape Recording) affair, initiated by the daily Dan.
Table shows increase of budget payments by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism in the pre-election period
More money projected for local infrastructure in the year of elections
It is conspicuous that in the election year 2016 capital budget of the Directorate of Public Works increased expenses for the modernization of local roads and urban roads by nearly €300,000 compared to the implemented budget for 2015, when no elections were held.
This year, modernization of local roads is planned in the municipalities of Gusinje, Andrijevica, Plav, Rozaje, Mojkovac, Savnik, Danilovgrad, Pluzine and Cetinje.
The directorate, led by a long-time director of the Post Milan Martinovic, projected significant sums in the election year for the reconstruction of urban roads in Pljevlja, Zabljak and Plav, rehabilitation of municipal landfills in Beranselo, as well as for the construction of water supply system in Rozaje.
Authors:
Marko Vesovic
Ines Mrdovic
This text is created with the support of the European Union and the U.S. Embassy Podgorica. Network for Affirmation of Non-Governmental Sector – MANS is solely responsible for the contents of this article, and the views taken herein shall not in any case be considered as those of the European Union.
