Today, MANS today called on the Minister of Energy and Mining, Saša Mujović, to immediately open the review procedure of the contract on the award of the concession for stone exploitation at the “Platac” site in Krimovica, which was awarded to the company “Carinvest” contrary to the law.
According to the documentation that MANS submitted today for review by the new line minister in the Government of Montenegro, the procedure for the award of concession, the selection of the concessionaire and the final signing of the contract had been carried out in a manner that from the very beginning favoured the company owned by the family of the former president of the Municipality of Budva, Marko Bato Carević.
For more than two years, MANS has been pointing to the fact that the law was grossly violated during the awarding of this concession for the period of 30 years, which is why we filed several criminal charges, the last one against the former Minister of Finance, Aleksandar Damjanović, who signed the concession agreement with Carević.
The company “Carinvest” has been extracting stone at the “Platac” site for the last 15 years. Although there were conditions for the termination of this contract because Carević transferred ownership of the company to his son without the consent of the competent Ministry, that did not happen.
After a new contract for additional 30 years was signed with the Carević family in August this year, their company will actually be able to use the quarry for at least 45 years, which is a decision that could not have been made by the government, but by the parliament.
Prior to the signing of this contract, following the initiative of Carević, the Government of Montenegro first amended the annual Plan for granting of concessions for detailed geological research and exploitation of mineral resources for 2021, and then drafted the concession document using data that were the property of their company, which is expressly prohibited by the law.
The administrations of Zdravko Krivokapić and Dritan Abazović did not have enough capacity to oppose Carević’s intention to provide his company with unhindered use of the “Platac” quarry for the next 30 years, contrary to the law.
Apart from this case, Carević is also known to the general public as the single largest usurper of state property who has been using more than half a million square meters of state land in Krimovica for the eighth year without any hindrance, and thus far, without any legal consequences or restrictions.
Finally, the Carević case continues to be a test of political will to fight corruption that no government after the fall of the DPS has passed.
For this reason, we call on the Minister Mujović and the Government of Montenegro to show on a concrete example that the rule of law is above politics and political compromises, to immediately terminate the unlawful contract with the company “Carinvest”, and ensure full protection of the public interest.
MANS
