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Over a Thousand New Employees in Municipalities in a Year

Over a Thousand New Employees in Municipalities in a Year – According to Data from the Ministry of Finance.

At the local level, the number of employees has increased by more than one-third over the past decade, despite no new responsibilities being assigned to the municipalities. What would happen to this number if we proceeded with process of decentralisation, a path the Ministry of Public Administration is confidently pursuing despite the obvious problems in municipal operations?

Out of 15,869 employees, more than half are in local public enterprises, a figure that the Ministry of Public Administration does not include in its list of public sector employees.

You can read more about how the employee database at the local level is not updated and how rarely anyone is interested in this data – here.

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The Government changes at least 85 laws with one law: Political decision made, debate just a formality

The Government and the Ministry of Public Administration should undertake the reform of inspection oversight only after conducting an analysis of the state and results of the work of the Administration for Inspection Affairs and inspections operating within ministries.

The process of decentralising inspections is a political decision. This  is confirmed by the Minister of Public Administration, Marash Dukaj, in response to our question as to why this process was initiated even though it is not planned by the strategic framework of public administration reform. A minister, speaking at a round table on the Draft Law amending laws regulating inspection oversight, stated that the Ministry of Public Administration only implements conclusions made collectively by the Government.

To remind, in January 2024, the Government adopted an information on inspection oversight with conclusions on the need for reforming the existing system and establishing a decentralised model. Short deadlines were set based on inadequate analysis of the state. As a baseline, conclusions from the Efficiency Analysis of the Administration for Inspection Affairs from 2021 were considered, without assessing the work of inspections operating within ministries. Meanwhile, the Government has published a Draft Law amending laws containing provisions on inspection oversight.

Although the Draft Law amending laws regulating inspection oversight predicts changes to as many as 85 laws, the Ministry of Public Administration claims that it is merely terminological harmonisation rather than substantive decentralisation of inspections. They argue that this solution can fit into all models of inspection oversight.

At the roundtable on this Draft Law, held on Friday at the ReSPA center in Danilovgrad, the Ministry of Public Administration stated that public consultation is not necessary for this law, nor is it necessary to conduct a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) because the changes do not alter the essence of the laws.

It was also mentioned at the roundtable that the Draft does not contain all the provisions that need to be amended, as after publishing the draft, ministries submitted amendments to the Working Group, which speaks volumes about the haste in this process.

At the round table, we did not hear adequate arguments for why the Government insists on this rushed reform before conducting all appropriate analyses and proceeding with the reform of inspection oversight in Montenegro based on those conclusions. Representatives of the media and other non-governmental ogranisations were not present at the round table.

Changes in the functioning model of state bodies are justified, but they must be implemented based on analyses, strategically planned, and in line with existing strategic goals in the field of public administration reform. Therefore, we call on the Government and the Ministry of Public Administration to approach inspection reform only after conducting an analysis of the state and results of the work of the Administration for Inspection Affairs and inspections operating within ministries, and then plan further activities accordingly.

Dragana Jaćimović
Public Policy Researcher

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Changes to provisions on inspection oversight without public and clear arguments

Although the Ministry of Public Administration claimed in its official response to the Institute Alternative that it still does not know all the legal changes resulting from the abolition of the Administration for Inspection Affairs, in the meantime, it has initiated changes to 85 laws, without a clear explanation and violating public consultation procedures.

IA previously reacted to the hasty intention of the Government of Montenegro to abolish the Administration for Inspection Affairs, pointing out that it was not based on adequate analyses, the expose for the composition of the current Government, and the Public Administration Reform Strategy, and that it cannot be carried out without negative consequences within the specified short deadlines.

We also warned that the Government does not have the exact number of laws that need to be amended in order to decentralise inspections, even though their changes are required by February 15th.

In the meantime, following this process, we requested from the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) a list of laws whose provisions need to be amended, in accordance with the Government’s conclusion. However, on March 12th, the MPA responded that not all ministries have provided the provisions that need to be changed, and those that have done so have done it partially, i.e., they have not indicated all the necessary changes.

Just three days later, the Ministry, in a procedure that constitutes a violation of the Law on Public Administration and by-laws on public consultation in the drafting of laws, publishes a Draft Law amending laws regulating inspection oversight and invites the public to a round table discussion.

Alongside the Draft Law, an impact analysis of the regulations has not been published, even though it implies a drastic reorganisation of inspection bodies, and raises other related issues, such as the “fate” and further use of the unified information system, which provides technical support for the implementation, monitoring of the effectiveness of inspection supervision, and risk analysis.

The accompanying explanation on one side is not enough to answer numerous practical questions and challenges. Additionally, the existing information about the process is filled with inaccuracies and contradictions. For example, the minister claimed on a public service Radio and Television of Montenegro show that over 170 laws need to be changed, while now the intention is to amend half that number.

Also, the claim that the current combined system of inspection supervision, according to which certain inspections are within ministries (the so-called sectoral principle) and the majority within a single body – the Administration for Inspection Affairs (the so-called functional principle), is unique in Europe is not accurate.  This, considering that, a combined approach to organising inspection services exists in Croatia, which is considered a good practice example in this area.

Considering the contradictory information about this process and the potential negative effects, we once again appeal to the Government and Ministry give up on violating laws and ignoring the public in making important decisions, which threatens to become a pattern of action for the 44th Government.

Attached is the decision of the Ministry of Public Administration on the request for free access to information IA.

                                                                                                Milena Muk
Institute Alternative

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IA proposals for improving the Government’s Mid-term Work Programme

Institute Alternative’s proposals for improving the Government’s mid-term work programme mainly focus on strengthening legal and practical guarantees for merit-based employment, the need for an overall analysis of the current inspection system, the application of anti-corruption mechanisms in the field of public procurement, and legislative changes regarding classified information.

The Government’s mid-term work programme, which was open for public discussion until March 9th, leaves too much room for interpretation regarding the objectives of individual proposed activities, despite efforts to define certain indicators of success at a general level.

We particularly recognise that certain activities, announced without previous transparency and prior analysis, such as the abolition of the Administration for Inspection Affairs alongside numerous legislative changes aimed at reorganising inspection supervision, are not reflected in the Draft Programme. We believe it is necessary to clarify the Government’s further plans regarding this area, which is not evident from the document, which only contains previously planned amendments to the Law on Inspection Supervision, submitted to the parliamentary procedure by previous governments.

Furthermore, the long-awaited Anti-Corruption Strategy is not included in the Draft Programme at all, despite the recent establishment of the National Council for the Fight against Corruption by the Government, with the aim of preparing this Strategy among other things. We believe that the document should clearly state the reasons and objectives for adopting the Strategy, especially in the context of the announced receipt of reports on the fulfillment of interim benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24.

In addition to this general overview, in our comments, we have pointed out the need for amendments to the Labour Law that would go beyond the currently planned harmonisation with EU directives and standards, aiming to address the priority challenges and establish a merit-based employment system in the public sector. Among other things, the amendments should establish a rule of public advertisement; prescribe the duration of public advertisements for a minimum of 15 days; enable individuals seeking employment in the public sector to initiate proceedings or disputes if they believe their rights have been violated, without the restrictions currently existing in the Labour Law, which only apply to certain prohibited behaviours.

Moreover, regarding the planned amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, we believe that their scope should be clarified and supplemented. Although this Law has been subject to continuous criticism from both the European Commission and the non-governmental sector, the Draft Programme does not contain clear reasons nor does it explain the planned scope of amendments, which are envisaged until the fourth quarter of 2024. A working group, of which a representative of Institute Alternative is a part, was formed over a year ago, but members were informed that improvements to regulations in this area would be made gradually, starting with urgent amendments insisted upon by the European Commission to tighten employment conditions, followed by broader changes, which would involve the introduction of competency frameworks for all levels of civil service and other more demanding changes. However, the current justification for activities does not recognise this gradual approach, thus confusing the Government’s approach to this important area.

Due to the importance of providing clear guidelines for further normative activities in this area, we have provided concrete proposals, based on previously conducted detailed analyses and risk assessments of corruption in public sector employment, the results of which and an overview of key challenges are available at the following link: https://mapa-rizika.me.

We have proposed to the Government to conduct an analysis of the effectiveness of inspections within ministries and the Administration for Inspection Affairs, according to the same parameters. Only in this way can an informed approach be taken to any potential reorganisation of inspections. Since the last comprehensive reform of inspections in 2011, the Government has attempted several times to assess the effectiveness of the current model, but with an approach that has been plagued by various methodological shortcomings, aimed at justifying the current balance of power and the interest of certain ministries in bringing inspections back under their auspices.

Considering that according to the latest report on public procurement, to strengthen anti-corruption tools in the field of public procurement, it is planned to link the e-procurement system with the electronic system of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, we believe it is important for the Government to prepare information on the progress of this process and the necessary prerequisites for the integration of these systems.

We have also reminded of an earlier recommendation that through the Law on Classified Information, government bodies commit to preparing and publishing information on the number of documents, or information, classified within a certain period.

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Protest of 15 NGOs: Proposed amendments to the Criminal Code once again do not strengthen human rights protection in Montenegro

We protest because the recently published Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Montenegro again does not contain changes important for the protection of human rights.

This is the second time in three months that the Ministry of Justice has ignored recommendations of the Committee against Torture (CAT), the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), and those contained in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report for Montenegro, despite some of them dating back to 2014. Additionally, despite the announcement by the Minister of Justice, Andrej Milović, the possibility of introducing the criminal offense of Femicide has not been fully considered.

Ignoring these recommendations represents a failure in adequate protection of human rights and establishment of legal certainty, fails to meet the interim benchmarks for Chapter 23, and is not in line with the expected dynamics of reform processes that should bring the country closer to European Union membership.

Ministry of Justice concluded the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code after only two meetings of the working group, whose members were not consulted at all about the final version of the draft. This procedure raises serious doubts about the purposefulness of forming any working group and involving NGOs in the preparation of laws and strategies, i.e. decision-making processes. Additionally, the public discussion will last only 20 days – until 18 March – and without a roundtable discussion, which would enable broader discussions with relevant representatives of the Ministry of Justice.

It is particularly alarming that the Ministry of Justice explained the need for an accelerated procedure for the adoption of amendments by ‘work dynamics within Negotiating Chapter 23 and the fulfillment of Interim Measures’. However, out of five proposed amendments, only one has an impact on this chapter, while the others mainly relate to preventing money laundering and terrorist financing (Chapters 4 and 24).

On the other hand, for the process of improving fundamental rights, where Montenegro is required to align its legal framework with EU acquis and international standards, it was crucial to incorporate recommendations of, for example, the Committee Against Torture (CAT), the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which has not been done despite these bodies have been repeating them for years and non-governmental organisations continuously insist on them. The state is obliged to respect the recommendations of these bodies, as well as the obligations in the EU accession process.

Just 15 days ago, during the extraordinary visit of the CPT to Montenegro, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić emphasised that ‘the Montenegrin government is currently taking concrete measures, such as amendments to the Criminal Code, aimed at strengthening the legal framework to combat torture and abuse.’ However, none of the Draft proposals refer to a fight against torture, although harmonising the definition of torture with the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, tightening penalty ranges, and excluding statutes of limitations for all acts of torture were requested during public consultations for its preparation. Our NGOs will reiterate the proposals presented to the Ministry of Justice and through the Working Group for the amendment of the Criminal Code at the public discussion. We expect the Government to ensure the urgent adoption of all recommendations of international institutions and bodies and enable Montenegro to progress in the negotiations for accession to the European Union.

Human Rights Action (HRA)
Spektra Association
Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM)
Center for democratic transition (CDT)
Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN CG)
Centre for Monitoring and Research (CeMI)
Centre for the Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CRNVO)
Women’s Rights Center (WCR)
LGBTIQ Association Queer Montenegro
Institute Alternative
Montenegro Media Institute
Juventas
Women’s Safe House
Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro

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E-Government Development: Weak Systems Despite Years of Investment

Software for State Asset Management was paid for a decade ago but was not developed according to specifications. Hackers allegedly “locked” the Open Data portal, prompting the Ministry of Public Administration to create a third version. The government is also developing a new electronic document management system because the old one does not support upgrades. LARIS, the Local Revenue Administration System, is still not used by all municipalities.

Registry Paid for, Then Abandoned

After nearly 15 years of ignoring regulations, in May last year, an inventory of land and buildings owned by Montenegro was completed, and an electronic database, the State Property Registry, was established. The software for this registry was paid for in 2014, costing nearly 200,000 euros, but the registry is still not functional as originally intended.

The inventory of state property does not yet include information about its value.

The State Property Registry has been a legal obligation established by the State Property Law since 2009. One of the requirements was the acquisition of an integrated information system for unified records of state property, with the goal of having an accurate overview of the status of all assets at any given time, both overall and by individual bodies, and to enable fast and efficient management of accurate and complete data.

For this task, the private company “Atos” from Belgrade, as the only bidder, was engaged following a tender issued in late October 2014. The Belgrade company was paid 199,800 euros for this job, and the deadline for fulfilling the contractual obligations was September 2015.

Koča Đurišić, who was the Director of the Cadastre and State Property Administration, said to “Vijesti” in March last year that upon taking over the Administration, he found nothing that the law required regarding the registry and that the software from 2014 “never became operational.”

Reports from the State Audit Institution (DRI) show that the system was not established as stipulated in the contract and that the Ministry of Finance did not sign any annexes to the contract after the deadline for fulfilling contractual obligations expired. In the final report on the audit of the management of the State Property Registry from 2023, the DRI noted that “the integrated information system SAP FI-AA module, by the completion of the audit process or June 2023, had not been established as defined in the project description and specification, which are part of the contract, and it was not possible for the Cadastre and State Property Administration and state bodies to operationally use it to the intended extent.”

Activities to improve the functionality of the IT solution for managing state property and the quality of data are planned as part of the Public Finance Management Reform Programme for 2022-2026. For this purpose, 500,000 euros from the Budget are allocated.

Open Data “on Pause” for Nearly Two Years

Over 33,000 euros have been invested since 2017 in the creation and maintenance of the Open Data Portal (data.gov.me), but no new data sets have been published since May 2022.

For various tasks—development, maintenance, and vulnerability analysis of the portal—three contracts were signed, the last one in 2021. However, since May 2022, nothing has happened on the data.gov.me website.

The Ministry of Public Administration has meanwhile announced the development of a new portal and stated that the ministry has expert assistance from Canadian experts hired by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for this project. While no concrete decision has been made, the ministry mentioned in its response on February 22 that the project is in its initial phase.

“There is no concrete decision regarding the development of the portal because the need for the Open Data Portal arises from a large number of strategic documents that are part of the official policies of the Ministry of Public Administration,” said the Ministry.

The deadline for completing the new portal, they added, is by the end of the fourth quarter of this year.

The first contract, for the establishment of the Open Data Portal, was signed in 2017 with the company “Smart Tech” from Podgorica. The data.gov.me portal was presented in July of the following year.

The contract, valued at 14,042 euros (with VAT), was signed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration (MJU), Vesna Ćalović.

Two years later, the same firm was hired for the enhancement and maintenance of the portal for 14,497 euros (with VAT). The new contract was signed by the then-minister Suzana Pribilović.

In the documentation provided to the editorial team following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, there is also a third contract signed in 2021 by the then-Minister of Public Administration, Digital Society, Culture, and Media, Tamara Srzentić, with the firm “Codingo.” The contract, as stated in the documentation, involved vulnerability analysis services for the Open Data Portal, including security improvements and addressing identified vulnerabilities. For this task, the firm “Codingo” was paid 4,501.20 euros (with VAT).

The Ministry, led by Maraš Dukaj in both the current and previous government, stated that this contract was concluded after “CEED Consulting” Ltd. from Podgorica conducted research for the ministry to identify the key deficiencies in the portal’s operation.

“As well as the missing sets of frequently used open data, clearly distinguishing between open data and data and information obtained in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Since it was not possible to redesign the portal, a new one was developed within the project, and the new portal was published on May 26, 2022, and configured on the MJU’s production server. It operated until the cyber-attack in late August 2022,” they explained.

However, the last data sets on data.gov.me were published three months before the cyber-attack. The Ministry of Public Administration did not explain what happened during those three months—why there were no new entries from May to August 2022.

According to data shared by the MJU after the cyber-attack, until that critical event, 20 institutions had published 197 data sets in 15 areas on data.gov.me. Although still publicly accessible, the Open Data Portal is non-functional and even offers a user registration option. When asked what this registration is for and how many users have registered, the Ministry of Public Administration briefly replied: “We do not have that information.”

Documents in Paper Still in Effect

For licenses and maintenance of the Electronic Document Management System (eDMS), according to contracts on the public procurement portal (cejn.gov.me), over 678,500 euros have been paid from 2017 through 2022.

These contracts were awarded to firms such as SRC System Integrations from Belgrade, as well as S&T Montenegro, Digit Montenegro, and Čikom from Podgorica.

A new contract was signed with Čikom in October last year, valued at 429,550 euros (including VAT). This contract was for the development and maintenance of the eDMS system, as well as for managing the process of electronic government sessions in Montenegro.

The Electronic Document Exchange System, as mentioned in annual reports from the Ministry of Public Administration and in the Montenegro Digital Transformation Strategy 2022-2026 from December 2021, is one of the key government services aimed at improving business processes by gradually transitioning from paper to electronic document management.

The goal of implementing this system was faster information exchange, reduced paperwork, and increased security in document storage.

The project was initiated by the then Ministry of Information Society and Telecommunications, led by Vujica Lazović, in October 2009, and the eDMS system was established in 2011.

According to the Information on eDMS approved by the Government in December 2023, the system has been implemented in 23 institutions.

The same document also states that the eDMS and the systems for managing electronic government sessions and digital document signing “operate on outdated platforms for which support has expired and which cannot be upgraded.”

“For this reason, new systems will be established, based on the most advanced technologies and in accordance with the best global practices and international standards governing this field and information security,” the document states.

The Government also mentioned in the same report that the establishment of the new system is planned for the first quarter of 2024.

LARIS Useful but Not Mandatory

In 2019, the Association of Municipalities and UNDP began working on the “Efficient and Transparent Local Self-Government” project, which developed LARIS, an integrated local revenue administration system.

UNDP issued a public call for the software development in May 2020, and the job, worth 148,725 euros, was awarded to the company “E Smart” from Serbia.

The Association of Municipalities stated that they engaged in the project “primarily because the State Audit Institution (DRI) had repeatedly pointed out the shortcomings of the municipalities’ software.”

When asked about the number of municipalities using LARIS, they did not provide precise data but stated that most municipalities use the software in full, some use it partially, and a few do not use it at all.

“This is because some municipalities had developed their own software previously. A unified software is not yet a mandatory requirement, but rather a matter of decision for each municipality and adherence to DRI’s recommendations,” they noted in their responses.

The DRI’s 2021 report on the thematic audit “Collection and Recording of Own Revenues in Local Self-Governments” indicated that special software used by some municipalities does not allow for the recording and separation of local public revenues by year and that in some municipalities, the software does not exist at all, with revenues recorded in Word or Excel.

“After reviewing the functionalities of LARIS, the DRI recommended all municipalities to use LARIS to simplify and improve the tax procedure, facilitate communication, and reduce taxpayer costs,” the DRI report states.

The Association of Municipalities said that this recommendation was accepted by some municipalities that had not used LARIS before. For instance, during 2023, the Municipality of Ulcinj became a user, while the Municipality of Bar showed interest in using the most modules.

Questions about whether they use LARIS were sent to all local self-governments. Responses were provided by the municipalities of Bijelo Polje, Cetinje, Rožaje, and Tivat.

Based on the responses, municipalities that use it are satisfied with the software, although they use it in different ways. They also mention that the software allows for networking with other public registries, which is important for calculating local revenues.

Tivat Offers Online Tax Payments

Among the municipalities using LARIS that provided a response, only Tivat offers citizens the option to pay services online.

“It is possible to pay property tax, tourist tax, and road fees online, but this does not rely on the LARIS programme. We will attempt to improve the online payment system in cooperation with LARIS in the future,” said the Municipality of Tivat.

The Municipality of Bijelo Polje stated that there is no interest from citizens for online payments.

“As for online payments, we do not practice them yet due to the lack of interest from citizens, as they prefer to make payments at our cash desk or with field workers responsible for collections,” said the Bijelo Polje Municipality.

The Municipality of Cetinje mentioned that online payment would be desirable and that it would be beneficial to connect the system with the electronic personal ID card (eLK) issued by the Ministry of the Interior for the past three years.

The Capital City did not respond to questions about the use of the LARIS system. A review of the platform, after login, shows that the online payment button exists but is not functional.

In the Information on the status of the project “eServices and Digital Infrastructure as a Response to COVID-19,” which was adopted by the Government on December 21 last year, it is mentioned that online property tax payment with the Capital City has been halted “until certain challenges arising from organisational changes at both local and central levels are overcome.”

Additionally, through the LARIS system of the Capital City, although the option exists for property tax, an electronic version of the solution cannot be obtained.

An electronic version of the solution can be obtained upon request via email.

For various activities carried out under the project “eServices and Digital Infrastructure as a Response to COVID-19,” the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Montenegro, with the support of the European Union, allocated about 824,000 dollars over three years.

The project started in January 2021 and will end at the end of this year. By the end of last year, 622,880 dollars had been spent.

According to data from the UNDP Montenegro website, 92,875 euros were paid in 2021 for consulting services from CEED, which conducted the analysis of the Open Data Portal.

This investigative article was produced within the Project “Procurement under spotlight – Making Watchdogs Work!”, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Serbia and Montenegro within the MATRA Rule of Law program. Project aims to empower and motivate watchdogs to combat corruption and undue influence in public procurement.