Economic analyst Predrag Drecun supported the Government’s decision to return the Port of Bar, the Port of Adria, the Railways and Maritime Transport to the state and assessed that monopolies and state resources should not have been privatized.
“It was a wrong strategy of previous governments to privatize everything,” Drecun said in the Link program on Radio Montenegro.
At the next session, the government should revoke the decision by which the company Pomorski saobracaj was given management of the Kamenari-Lepetane ferry in 2019 without a concession. Drecun believes that it is a strategically good decision, RTCG reports.
“This move is economically justified from the point of view of the state. I think that the state can, if it organizes it, collect much higher revenues. It is similar with other infrastructural business entities such as Port of Bar and others,” said Drecun.
Since December, the government started to buy the shares of the Port of Bar, and discussions have also begun on the takeover of the Port of Adria company or the former Container Terminals that were part of the Port.
Drecun also supports this move by the Government.
“In my opinion and the analyzes I have done with eminent experts, I think that the Port of Bar is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, resource that Montenegro has and it must be used. The port must be under state administration and connected by road, rail, air traffic as much as possible, but first there is the highway. We can also develop great energy potentials. Splitting the Port in general was wrong”, said Drecun.
Regarding the model according to which the state took over Željezara Nikšić, Drecun said that he could not say whether it was optimal.
“If we brought the distinction that Željezara should continue to work, we should devote ourselves to all the positive effects of that model. If there is inventiveness and managerial creativity, Željezara can continue to work, because a good period awaits us when it comes to the development of energy potential in the world and the possibility of placing everything that Montenegro has on the market”, said Drecun.
The government has been In a technical mandate for months, there are more and more people who say that there will be no extraordinary parliamentary elections. In such a system, Drecun believes that, especially bearing in mind the mentioned moves, everything in the state works quite well. However, as he said, political support for the Government is disputed.
“Some moves show the Government’s good intention to do something, but the political support for such a Government is questionable and it is unsustainable for parties that are on the verge of the census to lead the country without legitimacy. The collision of these two vectors can be problematic for the government, that’s why I think that the elections as soon as possible are a good solution because these tensions will decrease”, said Drecun.
The law on the origin of property will be before the deputies on February 10. The consultative hearing of the Minister of Justice, Marko Kovac, was also initiated. Speaking on that topic, Drecun says that the biggest critic is the non-governmental sector.
“Criticisms are well-argued, but it may not be good to pass a law on which you do not have at least a consensus with the civil sector,” Drecun announced.
Speaking about inflation, he said that food prices in the world are falling, while this has not yet happened in our country.
“In Montenegro, price growth was raised by several factors – import prices, which we cannot influence, we can influence the margin, and the factor that affects inflation is the Influence of refugees after the Ukrainian war. Due to the increase in demand, there was an increase in prices”, said Drecun.
He stated that he expects new economic perspectives to open at the global level in the coming years.
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