US Ambassador to Montenegro visits Tivat

The Ambassador of the United States of America to Montenegro, N.E. Judy Raising Reinke visited Tivat yesterday as part of her official stay in the Bay of Kotor, where she met with the leading people of the Municipality.

During the meeting, the ambassador said that the goal of her visit to the bay was to get better acquainted with local governments, determine economic opportunities and needs of citizens, and discuss opportunities for development, emphasizing that the entire region is important for the United States. The ambassador was accompanied by Deputy Head of the Political and Economic Section Valter Andonov, while on behalf of the Tivat authorities the meeting was attended by Mayor Zeljko Komnenovic, President of the Municipal Assembly Dr. Andrija Petkovic, Vice Presidents Vladimir Arsic and Goran Bozovic, and Adviser for Economy and International Cooperation President Sanja Vukovic.

Thanking the ambassador for the visit, Komnenovic defined city management in the previous year as crisis management, since, in addition to the fact that Tivat was severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, his administration found a debt of over 4 million euros when he came to power.

"After a year and a half of work, today the city budget has 6 million euros, and the Municipality of Tivat is the only one that has rationalized the local government by 40%. In addition to stabilizing finances, the focus of the previous year was on social benefits, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the realization of the tourist season, but also establishing new relationships with strategic investors, "said the mayor, noting that the goal developed local infrastructure, and that Porto Montenegro in September last year, for the first time since 2012, paid the Municipality the amount of almost 2.4 million euros on the basis of fees for communal equipment, which the previous government forgave.

During the meaningful conversation, the first man of Tivat informed the ambassador about the plans in the field of investments and announced that in the past period, over half a million euros were invested in asphalting local roads that have not been repaired for decades. The plan is to complete the works on the Belani promenade, in cooperation with the Public Company for Management of Marine Assets of Montenegro and the construction of the Donja Lastva - Lepetani promenade, while a new school in Radovici, worth 3.8 million euros, has been included in the Montenegrin government budget. The construction of the MR2 road on Luštica is also in progress, for which the previous administration spent the funds received from the Government for no purpose, which is why the new one had to borrow on credit.

Komnenovic said that the local government in Tivat bears a heavy burden of the 30-year rule of the DPS, and that numerous criminal charges have been filed against individuals from the previous administration for negligent work. The current government is guided by the principle of transparency and openness towards the citizens, with the goal of planning further development of the city together with them and creating better living conditions for the people of Tivat.

"Through the work of the new administration, Tivat has justified the epithet of the city with the greatest potential for the development of the tourist economy in the country." A team of people has been created who are not guided by ideas that share citizens, but work together for positive changes ", said Komnenović, who pointed out that the new government is committed to improving the status of minority peoples. Thus, among other things, the flag of the Republic of Croatia was displayed for the first time last year on the building of the Municipality of Tivat as part of the national holiday of the Croatian people in Montenegro, and the House of Culture in Donja Lastva is the only institution in the country. the Croatian flag is displayed throughout the year.

For the first time, the employment status of members of the RE population has been resolved, who, after many years of work in municipal companies, have only now received legal employment contracts. The Municipality of Tivat provides free transportation and textbooks for students of the RE population, and cooperation has been established with the organization "Association of Young Roma" in an effort to solve the problems facing the RE population. Talks with investors are also working intensively on resolving the problem of the temporary settlement on July 7 and the housing issue for the 30 families who have settled there. "

Ambassador Reinke thanked for the presentation of the results of the local government of Tivat achieved in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic and agreed that it is important to establish direct contact with citizens and actively involve them in decision-making.

Although local lists are in power, Tivat is not immune to political developments in the country, so the local parliament has been blocked since September last year, when the SDP suddenly withdrew minority support from the state level without specific explanation and dialogue, leading to non-adoption. budget of the Municipality for 2022. Tivat leaders said that this political situation burdens the citizens and that it needs to be resolved as soon as possible by organizing new elections, so that the city can be unblocked as soon as possible and continue working on tourism and economy, and that the administration is working to solve specific problems. does not abandon the principle that no party goal should be above the interests of the city and citizens.

The President of the Municipal Assembly of Tivat, Dr. Andrija Petković, announced that the local parliament, before the blockade, held 10 parliamentary sessions with 30 items on the agenda on average, including numerous decisions that helped improve the quality of life of citizens. "Tivat and Boka base their development predominantly on tourism, but the attitude towards the most valuable resource, space and coast is inadequate," said Petkovic, noting that, despite his undeniable contribution to the tourism industry, the Management Boards of Montenegro Montenegro ”has no representative from Tivat.

According to the mayor Komnenović, the people of Tivat still perceive the current strategic projects as closed units and "cities in the city", and one of the reasons is that a small number of locals are still employed in them, and the state has not worked to create qualified personnel for the needs of that market. That is why he points out that he is happy with the announcement of the seasonal employment fair organized by Porto Montenegro, with the hope that he will give priority to the local population when choosing staff.

During the conversation, the ambassador was informed about the plan to build a joint fire and police home, and they also talked about Tivat Airport, the implementation of the Government's program "Europe Now!", And the upcoming construction of Tivat-Jaz Boulevard.

Thanking for the welcome and the conversation, Ambassador Reinke stated that she was looking forward to the continuation of the talks and the improvement of cooperation, emphasizing that it is important that the city is oriented towards the future and development. In order to contribute to the United States in the fields of economy and tourism, the ambassador proposed holding a meeting in Tivat with members of the American Chamber of Commerce, and referred to the statement of the privatization of the coast, emphasizing Montenegro, as an ecological state, should have that among its priorities.