PAYMENTS FOR TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS, AID, ROADS ASPHALTING AND TRIPS INCREASED IN SEPTEMBER

More than half of the budget users violate the Law on Financing of Political Entities due to increased spending during the election campaign

More than half of the budget users violate the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns because in September, they had higher spending than prescribed. During the election campaign, several state institutions increased spending for temporary employment contracts, consulting services, aid and subsidies, construction of local infrastructure, official trips and fuel.

Article 38 of that Law prescribes that budgetary spending units shall be prohibited from monthly spending higher than the average monthly spending in the previous six months from the day of calling of the elections until the day of holding of the elections. Out of 86 budget beneficiaries, in September, as many as 45 spent more than the six-month average before the elections.

Of that number, eight budget beneficiaries spent over one million euros more than the legally prescribed maximum, and three had a spending increase of between 500 thousand and one million euros. In September, six state institutions spent from 100 to 500 thousand euros more than the law prescribes, three exceeded the limit by 50 to 100 thousand, and eight of them spent from 10 to 50 thousand more than they were allowed to. The remaining 17 institutions violated the legal maximum by less than 10 thousand and more than one thousand euros.

 

 

Budget beneficiary	Spending in September	Increase in relation to the limit
Ministry of Education	30,869,791	12,937,889
Ministry of Finance	44,074,851	6,175,696
Public Works Administration	7,010,788	3,566,783
Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare	14,972,942	3,273,818
Health Insurance Fund	32,279,191	2,230,574
Railway Directorate	3,397,541	1,817,359
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management	4,487,507	1,522,948
Judicial Council	3,595,563	1,258,404
Employment Agency	4,900,697	861,131
Pension and Disability Insurance Fund	38,374,347	802,352
Ministry of the Interior	7,537,928	785,064
Ministry of Justice	608,564	386,498
Ministry of Capital Investments	734,969	333,790
Ministry of Culture and Media	1,360,950	227,514
Forestry Administration	580,032	180,755
Ministry of European Affairs	173,293	130,345
Directorate for Foodsafety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs	316,354	120,558
Nature and Environment Protection Agency	270.429	71.861
Bureau for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions	860,207	68,221
Agency for Control and Quality Assurance of Higher Education	77,476	53,852
Cabinet of the Prime Minister	195,981	43,305
Parliament of Montenegro	707,188	39,616
Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism	833,763	39,468
Regional Diving Centre for Underwater Demining and Divers Training	69,973	36,922
Examination Centre	92,597	28,621
Directorate for Cultural Heritage Protection	64,727	25,640
Water Administration	34,882	23,129
State Audit Institution	169,802	17,814
Ministry of Human and Minority Rights	85,493	9,919
State Election Commission	44,303	9,354
Statistical Office	170,811	9,183
Administration for Inspection Affairs	403,412	7,345
Centre for Training in Judiciary and State Prosecutor’s Office	39,046	4,524
Investment Agency	46,931	4,349
Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information	63,395	4,301
Senate of the Old Royal Capital	7,859	3,701
Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology	111,435	3,495
Fund for Protection and Realization of Minority Rights	23,666	3,377
Official Gazette of Montenegro	6,750	3,375
Hydrocarbons Administration	14,159	3,324
Privatisation and Capital Projects Council	13,452	2,652
Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms	54,908	1,797
Audit Authority	32,508	1,685
Agency for Prevention of Corruption	114,321	1,603
Agency for Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes	25,409	1,110

 
In September, there were worrying increases in spending for certain types of expenses:

–       The payment of aid to natural persons from the budget reserve, which was decided by the Government commissions, continued without any criteria, and 140,000 euros was paid out on that basis.
 
–       In September, the expenses on the basis of temporary employment contracts were nearly 300 thousand euros higher than the six-month average, and 1.3 million euros was spent for these purposes in September alone. The Revenue and Customs Administration spent nearly 170,000 euros on temporary employment contracts in September alone, which is over 100,000 more than the monthly average. In September, the Ministry of the Interior and the Bureau for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions each spent over 30,000 euros more than the average in the six-month period before the elections. The expenses of the temporary employment contract increased by 20 thousand euros at the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism and the Forestry Administration.

–       Subsidies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management increased by nearly 1.3 million euros compared to the average, as well as those of the Employment Agency by nearly 900 thousand euros.

 
–       Expenses for local infrastructure increased by nearly two million euros, which were spent from the budget of the Public Works Administration.

 
–       The costs of consulting services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management doubled compared to the average, and in September, they amounted to over 400 thousand euros.

–       The expenses of business trips in September amounted to over 600 thousand euros, and they are nearly 250 thousand euros higher than the six-month average. The biggest difference in spending has the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, which spent over 60,000 euros for official trips in September, which is 50,000 more than the average in the previous six months. The trips of the Ministry of the Interior increased by over 40 thousand euros, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by nearly 30 thousand and the Ministry of Defence by around 20 thousand.

–       Total expenses for fuel increased by around 90 thousand euros compared to the average. The Ministry of Defence took the lead in this, spending nearly 80,000 euros more than the average in September.

 
MANS