At the Administrative Court tomorrow will be held a hearing on the lawsuit of MANS against the Council for Privatization and Capital Projects for the annulment of the decision of the Council in January this year, which the privatization of 13 companies declared secret, with inarticulate explanation that the documentation for privatization contains information whose disclosure would cause detrimental consequences for the security and interests of Montenegro.
Privatization Council with the decision the period of confidentiality established for five years. MANS has repeatedly said that we suspected that behind the controversial decision of the Government’s body is hidden the intention that away from the public eye the remaining state-owned enterprises are sold below the market value and given as a gift to suspicious persons and companies.
On the list of companies whose privatization was declared secret are: Institute Simo Milosevic from Igalo, Montecargo Podgorica, Montenegro Airlines Podgorica, Budva Riviera, Ulcinj Riviera, Institute of Steel Industry from Niksic, Poliex Berane, Post office Montenegro , New Tobacco Plant Podgorica, Montenegro Defense Industry Podgorica, the Hotel Park in Herceg Novi, Locality Gornji Ibar Rozaje, as well as complete the negotiation process between the Government of the National Power Energy Company of Montenegro (EPCG) and the Italian company A2A regarding harmonization of new management contracts.
Official data show that in these 13 companies is employed nearly five and a half thousand people, while the total value of property, plants and equipment, which is shown in their financial statements at the end of 2014 amounted to 1.3 billion euros. The actual value of property, plants and equipment in real terms is higher, because for some of them, such as the Institute Simo Milosevic, the valuation of assets was made in the mid nineties.
With this in mind, the undeniable interest of employees to have access to all information under any circumstances, to whom and for how much money the Government intends to sell their company, but also of the entire public because those companies are in majority state owned.
The Government meanwhile adopted a decision on the sale of several companies from the list of 13 companies whose privatizations declared secret, and the way how that was done leaves ample room for doubt that continues to donate of a valuable assets to suspicious investors and domestic tycoons.
Thus, during the final activities for the signing of the sales contract for the Institute Simo Milosevic, in which the Government sold a majority stake for 10 million, although the company’s market value can be estimated at almost 200 million. The Government until today has not announced reference of British consortium to whom it sold package of shares, and which consists of a number of related companies which were established with insignificant capital of tens of thousands of pounds.
Also, the public has not yet presented what are the guarantees for the investment program of the future buyer, while the provisions of the draft sales contract for the Institute Simo Milosevic showed that based on harmfulness can be ranked with a contract for the sale of the Aluminium Plant Podgorica (KAP).
In addition, the Park Hotel in Herceg Novi was sold to Cedomir Popovic for 2.2 million euros, although a few years ago the hotel facility assets estimated at about 7.3 million euros. This tycoon from Podgorica earlier similarly came in the possession of the valuable assets once a renowned tourist company “Juzni Jadran” from Herceg Novi, whose workers left on the street, and later started selling off valuable property, earning multiple times.
Popovic is also known for the affair of sale of valuable building lots in the capital city, actually business that State Prosecutor’s Office is investigating to determine the grounds for suspicion of the secret deal with former Mayor Miomir Mugosa damaged the city budget by 11 million euros.
The Government sold and a military company “Montenegro Defense Industry” to Israeli-Serbian consortium, which the media associated with a person suspected of arms smuggling and money laundering, while at the same time was sold and other military company – “Poliex” from Berane, which is engaged in production of explosives.
Areas of privatization is one of the most sensitive to corruption, and numerous Montenegrin companies in the past two decades have been sold for next to nothing, while thousands of workers ended up on the street. New owners not only failed to invest in the companies they bought, but often just proved that their only motive was to get to the properties, which later were resold at enormous prices and earned extreme amount of money.
We remind that the sale of large companies, Telekom, through the Aluminum Plant, to EPCG, is marked by scandals and suspicions of corruption, and the Montenegrin citizens still suffer from devastating consequences of the Government’s decisions through various fiscal expenditure, such as tax increases, the introduction of various taxes, pension cuts or salary freeze.
The main hearing in the Administrative Court will be held tomorrow at 10:00am.
MANS
