February 2014 – Institute Alternative

25. 02. 2014.25. 01. 2018.

Press release: Government to react because of deadline breaching

Two municipalities in Montenegro, Budva and Plav, have not yet adopted the Final Account of the Budget for 2012. It is time that the Government and the Ministry of Finance undertake measures to compel them to comply with the law and basic standards of transparency and accountability.

Institute Alternative maintains the website on local finances, www.mojgrad.me, aimed at improving the transparency of budgets of local governments. According to the data available to us, Budva and Plav have not yet adopted Final Accounts of the Budget for 2012. This means that, even though we have largely entered the year 2014, we still do not have complete information on how these municipalities were allocating and spending funds in 2012.

We remind that the current situation is no exception. These municipalities have thus far published their annual accounts of the budget with huge delays. For example, Final Accounts of the Budget for 2011 Budva and Plav adopted only at the beginning of this year.

Particularly problematic is the situation with non-publishing of the Final Account of the Budget of Plav, because their Final Account for 2011 received a negative opinion of the State Audit Institution due to serious irregularities that have been detected.

We believe that the seriousness of the situation allows for the Government to use the possibility prescribed by the Law on Local Self-Government and warn the mayors that municipalities have to perform their duties.

In addition, it is necessary that the Ministry of Finance considers undertaking measures at its disposal, according to the Law on Local Government Financing, towards the municipalities in violation of legal provisions related to the key budget documents. These measures entail temporary suspension of payment of assigned income to these municipalities. We believe that until Budva and Plav publish their Final Accounts of the Budget and make public the manner in which they spent resources in 2012, these municipalities should not be granted additional funds from taxpayers.

Timely publication of final accounts of the budget is essential for budget transparency, as it represents the final image of budget execution and most important instrument for the control of local budgets. Every decent deadline for publication of Final Accounts of the Budget of Budva and Plav has passed. Now it up to the Government and the Ministry of Finance to undertake measures at their disposal according to the law and compel them to fulfill their basic legal obligations.

Marko SOŠIĆ
Policy Analyst

25. 02. 2014.02. 03. 2018.

SELDI Joint Internships Programme in Good Governance and Anti-Corruption: Experience Southeast European Civil Society Organisations from Witnin

The Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) (www.seldi.net) is an anti-corruption and good governance coalition created in November 2012 by 17 likeminded CSOs in Southeast Europe, involving partners from nine countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey).

Position description

The SELDI network offers an unpaid internship opportunity for outstanding students from leading European Union universities, who are interested in gaining experience in one or several leading civil society organisations in Southeast Europe on the topic of anti-corruption and good governance.

You will have the opportunity to work with leading researchers, policy analysts, investigative journalists, and advocacy leaders from the countries of Southeast Europe on anti-corruption and good governance.

You can apply to one or several of the SELDI network member organizations to be your host institution(s). The regional joint internship can be held in at least two countries and institutions in the region, depending on the preferences of the candidate.

Candidates from all spheres of social sciences and humanities are welcome to apply.

Responsibilities

The interns will support the work of the SELDI initiative by implementing the following activities:

support the corruption monitoring and analysis process;
perform desk research and statistical (survey) data analyses;
preparation of policy briefs and background documents;
gathering information for the upcoming corruption assessment reports;
organisation of events;
assist the day-to-day work of the host organization in the area of corruption
monitoring and analysis;
etc.

Benefits

Through the joint internship programme you can:

Gain on the ground civil society anti-corruption experience and knowledge in more than one SEE country and/or institution.
Have the possibility to choose between 17 host institutions in 9 countries.
Help SEE in a critical development area and improve regional understanding in Europe.
Visit different countries, and gain experience in different work environments and cultures.
Focus on the same topic and methodology, and compare country specifics.
Benefit from easy transition when moving to another host institution and/or country, since the work will follow the same research methodology and activities in all host-institutions.

Requirements

excellent university credentials
fluency in English (second major EU language will be considered an advantage, in particular the language of the host institution’s country)
computer literacy (spreadsheets, presentations)
very good written and analytical skills
organizational skills
ability to quickly and efficiently perform searches in databases and in the Internet
ability to work under pressure

Note: applicants that prefer the Regional Anticorruption Initiative (RAI) as host institution should consider RAI’s internship requirements.

Interns are expected to be well organised and able to adapt to a varying workload. They should have a strong desire to learn, a sense of responsibility as well as adaptability and flexibility, team work, initiative and enthusiasm.

Host institutions

The potential host institutions are CSOs with status of non-governmental, nonprofit organisations (or equivalent). They include:

In addition SELDI is in the process of accepting partners from two more Southeast European countries – Romania and Moldova, which will also be offered as potential destinations for internships.

Duration

The recommended duration of each internship is at least 3 months. The half-day internships will be carried out in the period from Spring to Autumn 2014. During that time, following a pre-determined schedule, the intern may change its host institution and/or move to another country.

Interns are expected to spend at least 4 hours a day in the hosting organization, and will be provided with guidance on how to spend the rest of their time on understanding the culture and local environment.

Please Note

The internship is unpaid.

Application

Please, send to nelly.gospodinova@online.bg the following:

Full CV in EuroPass format in English, including contact details
Motivation letter
Writing sample (min. 3 pages) in English
Please indicate to which of the host institutions you would like to apply
Please indicate preferred period of placement. Please note that preference will be given to candidates with a minimum commitment of three months.
Please, specify how you intend to cover your own travel, accommodation and daily allowance expenses.

Approval of candidates

Internship applications will be reviewed once per month (from March 2014 till mid-September 2014).

Only the candidates short listed for interview will be contacted.

Selected candidates will be contacted by e-mail or telephone, and skype or telephone interviews will be arranged with the potential host institutions.

If approved, prior to joining the internship, all candidates from abroad should obtain a medical insurance for the whole period of their commitment.

THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION

The views expressed in this announcement do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission

20. 02. 2014.09. 11. 2020.

Procurement in Montenegrin municipalities

A yearlong research on the risks of corruption in public procurement procedures in Montenegrin municipalities was conducted within the project Corruption at the Local Level- Zero Tolerance. Among other things, the project entails monitoring of local action plans for fight against corruption in 14 municipalities, as well as development of a study of practical policies in six areas of high risk for corruption. The analysis Procurement in Montenegrin municipalities represents both a continuation of the research activities of the Institute Alternative in the field of public procurement during which several practical policy proposals have been made in the light of improving the legal and institutional framework and overcoming the problems in practice, as well as a guide for a more effective monitoring of public procurement by the Parliament of Montenegro.

The overview of the situation in the field of public procurement in Montenegro, with special emphasis at the local level, during 2012 and 2013 has been made on the basis of the official reports on the work of relevant institutions responsible for public procurement system, conclusions of the Government, reports on analytical overview of harmonization of legislation with the EU Acquis for the Chapter 5 Public Procurement and Chapter 23 Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, as well as Montenegro 2013 Progress Report of the European Commission. This section is followed by the criteria for transparent implementation of public procurement which have been applied to Montenegrin municipalities, with a special reference to local self – governments covered by the project. A part of information was obtained through requests for free access to information.

In order to obtain relevant information on the capacity of local self – governments for the implementation of public procurements and perception of the risk of corruption in this area, a questionnaire was prepared for civil servants responsible for public procurement. The questions have been formulated in such a manner so as to provide basis for assessment of the capacity of services for public procurement, tender committees and process of multiyear procurement planning. The questionnaire was sent to public procurement officers in 14 local self-governments, as well as to civil servants responsible for public procurement working in public institutions and enterprises founded by these municipalities. Based on responses received from 34 civil servants the problems have been identified in implementation of the Law on Public Procurement at the local level, which are presented in Chapter 4 – analysis.

In line with the identified problems in the direction of a transparent implementation and sustainable planning of public procurement at the local level, at the end of the analysis a set of recommendations for improvement of the current situation has been offered.

Analysis is prepared within the project ”Corruption at the Local Level- Zero Tolerance”, conducted by Centre for Civic Education (CCE) in cooperation with Institute Alternative, NGO Bonum from Pljevlja and NGO Nada from Herceg Novi. Project is financed with the support of European Union, through Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro via IPA 2011, and co-financed by the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

18. 02. 2014.25. 01. 2018.

Procurements in Montenegrin Municipalities

At a press conference held today, Institute Alternative has presented the study »Procurement in Montenegrin municipalities« which introduces problems in the implementation of public procurement in 14 municipalities.

The speakers at the press conference were:

Nikola Đonović, Centre for Civic Education, coordinator of the project “Corruption on the local level – zero tolerance!”;
Marko Sošić, Public Policy Researcher at Institute Alternative;
Jovana Marović, Research Coordinator at Institute Alternative.

This analysis is prepared within the project “Corruption on the local level – zero tolerance!”, implemented by Centre for Civic Education (CCE) in cooperation with Institute Alternative (IA), as well as NGO Bonum from Pljevlja and NGO Nada from Herceg Novi, with the support of European Union through EU Delegation in Montenegro (IPA 2011) and co-financing of the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

17. 02. 2014.28. 01. 2018.

Third generation of Public Policy School – Apply!

This call is currently available only in Montenegrin.

Translation coming soon!

12. 02. 2014.02. 03. 2018.

State bodies have to protect its opponents

Regarding the statement of the organizing committee of the conference “Word, Image and the Enemy”, followed by feature within “Minut, dva” show on TV Pink M and text in “Pobjeda”, which attempts to label the executive director of the CCE, Daliborka Uljarević, as a terrorist only because she warned of the possibility that protests, such as those in Bosnia and Herzegovina, may occur also in Montenegro, we condemn this act and request that the responsible state authorities for protection of human rights act and prevent drawing a target to opponents as well as attacks that are announced and encouraged at the expense of freedom of expression in Montenegro.

Text of the previously mentioned press statement of the organizing committee of conference “Word, Image and the Enemy” represents the latest attempt to intimidate non-governmental organizations in Montenegro and other critics of the authorities. In Montenegro there is a continuous campaign being conducted to prepare the Montenegrin public for violence against non-governmental organizations and other opponents of the ruling politicians and state officials. There is a persistent effort to convince the public that the key non-governmental organizations and their leaders are “criminals,” “thieves,” “violent,” “war instigators” and that therefore one should fight them. Although we are aware that activists of non-governmental organizations as public figures are required to have a higher degree of tolerance for criticism, the latest reaction to the views of Daliborka Uljarević, in which she is extremely inappropriately being accused for “war propaganda,” we perceive as announcement of confrontation, after the media, also with the key representatives of non-governmental organizations.

By this joint statement we want to clearly underline that for all eventual attacks, due to various forms of pressure so far, we hold accountable the Government of Montenegro, because it is obliged to ensure everyone a safe environment for freedom of expression, regardless of political stance, and it especially must refrain itself from implementation of threatening campaigns that lead to endangering the citizens and their human rights. The campaign, which is continuously being conducted via daily “Pobjeda”, which is in majority state-ownership, the television PINK M and the conference “Word, Image and the Enemy”, in whose managing board are even two representatives of the Government – from the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights – Irena Bošković and from the Ministry of Culture – Željko Rutović, obviously represents implementation of determined plan of intimidating the leading non-governmental organizations and other critics of the situation in the country, which, as it appears to be, is supported by the Government.

We urge state authorities, primarily the Government of Montenegro, namely, Minister for Human and Minority Rights Suad Numanović and Minister for Culture Branislav Mićunović, as well as the Ombudsman, to condemn the attacks coming from bodies and media in which the representatives of the Government are and which the Government is financing. The absence of a clear distancing and condemnation of the campaign of organizers of conference “Word, Image and the Enemy” and the state’s “Pobjeda” against the Constitution guaranteed right to freedom of expression will mean an additional call for attacks on non-governmental organizations and other critics of situation in the society or government policy.

1. Ana Novaković, Executive Director, Centre for Development of NGOs (CRNVO)

2. Zlatko Vujović, President of Governing Board, CEMI

3. Stevo Muk, President of Governing Board, Institute Alternative

4. Marina Vujačić, Executive Director, Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro

5. Milan Šaranović, Director General, Centre for Anti-Discrimination EKVISTA

6. Ivana Vujović, Executive Director, Juventas

7. Danijel Kalezić, President of Governing Board, Queer Montenegro

8. Ljupka Kovačević, Coordinator, Centre for Women and Peace Education ANIMA

9. Ljiljana Raičević, President, Women Safe House

10. Sabina Talović, Executive Director, Bona Fidae

11. Tea Gorjanc Prelević, Executive Director, Human Rights Action

12. Maja Raičević, Executive Director, Women Rights Centre

13. Goran Đurović, member of the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro