Members of the Parliament to resist pressure by interest lobbies

Parliament · 27/12/2015

At tomorrow’s session of the Parliament deputies will vote on the drafts of the Law on Energy, excise, state budget for the coming year as well as the decision on adoption of the Annex to the Agreement on the lease of the “Queen’s beach” in Milocer and on the decision on approval of the contract for long-term lease of island Lastavica with fortress Mamula.

MANS during the last week in details informed deputies, through the submission of the amendments, as well as through the media on key issues relating to the acts on which they will be voting tomorrow, so we believe that there are no obstacles for them to make a decision based on the facts, and  not based on anyone’s personal or party interest.

One of the draft laws that would be voted tomorrow in the Parliament is the Law of Energy in which the Government of Montenegro has incorporated a number of provisions that favor producers of energy, at the expense of final consumers and citizens of Montenegro. MANS on this occasion through the members of the Parliament directed several amendments by which we  sought to improve this Law, which in its current form does not deserve the confidence of the members  of the Parliament who care about the public interest.

A similar situation exists with the proposal of the Law on excise duties where the Government again tried to illegally transfer on citizens the greatest burden of wrong decisions that under unfavorable conditions enter into the business of construction of one of the section of the highway. The introduction of double standards, where the citizens are through excise duties on fuel charged more, and privileged Chinese companies and related construction tycoon companies are charged less, is something that MANS strongly opposes and hopes that lawmakers will reject this proposal of the Law on excises.

When it comes to decisions on the approval of projects of hotels “Queen’s Beach” and “Mamula”, those are documents that were once encountered disapproval of the majority of members of the Montenegrin Parliament because of its harmful effects on the public interest, and the clear intent of the Government to the investors, contrary to the Law and Constitution, provide the privileges that are not enjoyed by any other citizen in Montenegro. As the Government to the members of the Parliament offered again the same documents, MANS expects that the voting result is the same as in the month of July, when the acts had already been rejected. Those members of the Parliament or political parties who will vote differently as they previously declared, will be obliged to explain to the public why they changed their opinion on the same document, who forced or persuaded them to do that. This represents elementary political decency for every member of the Parliament who sees itself as a representative of the citizens since they are accountable to them for their work in the Parliament. Everything else opens a huge space for doubt about in the political corruption and abuse of parliamentary powers.

Finally, when it comes to the Draft Law on the Budget for the year of 2016, MANS urges lawmakers to support those amendments that would limit the clear intention of the Government of Montenegro to convert the budget into the electoral and make it fit for abuses of the upcoming elections next year. Also, we expect that the members of the Parliament will support those amendments which stop the intention of the Government that also, in the next year, the burden of debts among public companies, and financing of megalomaniac projects in the energy sector, fell again at the expense of citizens and the state budget.

MANS