MANS: Minister Wouldn�t Listen to Anybody

Network for Affirmation of the Non-governmental Sector - MANS

The Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector (MANS) demanded from the vice-president of the Government Vujica Lazović to ensure that the Energy Development Strategy to the Year 2025 is based on European standards and adopted with proper public participation, in cooperation with relevant international institutions.

MANS claims that the strategy is prepared behind the closed doors of the Ministry of Economic Development, with consultants paid to protect the interests of future developers.

The organization claims that the Draft doesn�t list the basic information necessary for rational decision on the construction of new generation facilities and is opposed to other Government, notably the National Sustainable Development Strategy. MANS believes that the Draft Strategy is to use the purpose of providing the formal background for deals that were already made.

- The paper ignores the transmission losses that amount to about 30 percent of total production, neglects the subsidies for Podgorica Aluminum Company (KAP) and Niksic Steelworks, and proposes building huge power dam facility, without any cost/benefit analysis, that could lead to devastation of environment and be detrimental to security of the local population, says Vanja Ćalović, MANS Executive Director.

She explains that the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) presented serious criticism of the Draft-Strategy, in line with MANS�s own objections. EAR noted in its comments that �...the strategy in its current form is not relevant for existing Government policies�.

The Draft, adds Ćalović, didn�t take into account the problem of privatization of Pljevlje power plant and coalmines, or the privatization of the Electric Power Company, in spite of the fact that the future development of the state largely depends on those privatizations.