The International Day of the public’s right to know (September 28) is welcomed by Montenegro with an unreformed Law on Free Access to Information (Law on FAI), which still allows state institutions to withhold the information of public importance.
Although the amendments to this law were among the first to be initiated after the change of the previous regime, four years and three different governments later, there is still no political will to reduce the space for corruption and other violations of the law through increased access to information.
There are numerous examples where bad practice in the application of this law has continued, despite changes at the head of state institutions and companies.
The procedure initiated by MANS against the Coal Mine Pljevlja for violation of the Law on FAI has been going on for more than a year. MANS initiated this procedure after the management of this company had declared the contracts for the sale of coal with Elektroprivreda Srbije a business secret.
In addition to this information, the Coal Mine also declared a business secret data on the use of business credit cards, the number of new employees in that company during the election campaigns, employment contracts and other information that may indicate a violation of the law and possible corruption.
Other largest state companies, including Elektroprivreda Crne Gore, Solar-Gradnja, CEDIS, Montenegro Post, Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro, Tourism Organisation of Montenegro and others, had a similar practice for various types of data.
We believe that withholding of these types of information, most often by the state-owned enterprises, does not happen by chance, and that through the violation of the Law on FAI, they try to hide deals and decisions for which there is a suspicion that they are not in the public interest.
This is a practice that has continued even after 2020 and is contrary to the promised full rule of law and zero tolerance for corruption after the change of the previous government.
Free access to information enables citizens, journalists and civil society to gain insight into decisions that directly affect their lives, thereby encouraging greater public participation in democratic processes. Transparency is therefore crucial for the development of trust between the state and citizens, while the lack of reform in this segment significantly undermines that relationship.
MANS therefore repeats its call to the Ministry of Public Administration to take concrete steps towards the rapid reform of the Law on Free Access to Information. Only through clear and strict legal norms that guarantee the public’s right to information can we expect to significantly reduce the scope for abuses, and increase the level of integrity in the work of state authorities.
On this day, we invite the citizens of Montenegro to join the calls for more transparent governance and strengthening of mechanisms for free access to information, which is a basic prerequisite for true democracy and a society in which law and order reign.
MANS will continue to provide support to all interested social actors in free access to information through a specially designed smartphone application. (Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.co.mans.pitajte_institucije&pcampaignid=web_share,
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/hr/app/pitajte-institucije/id1594618199 as well as assistance in conducting proceedings before competent state authorities in order to obtain the requested information.
MANS
