Source: Vecernje novosti
Rodoljub Sabic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance
For two years no one has been punished for legal infringement. The most closed until now were BIA (Security Intelligence Agency) and the Ministry for Capital Investments.He received a mandate from the Assembly of Serbia to continue from where he has stopped. Rodoljub Sabic, new-old Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, expects from Parliament also urgent adoption of at least three laws that would alleviate his job. In return, he promises clash with everyone, even with the parties who would reply with silence to the things in which the public is interested.
Sabic also says that he is pleased to have had 144 MPs voting for him, although he as first quotes good marks he received from citizens, both journalists' associations, representatives of Europe...
- What have you missed, that you have planned to do it in the previous mandate?
- I didn't succeed in stimulating the others to do their job. For instance, when there's a problem, the Government of Serbia should provide for execution of our decisions. That hasn't functioned so-far at all. For almost two years no one has been punished for violation of the law, because the Ministry of Culture and Information, which is in charge, didn't submit any infringement reports. I also didn't succeed in my intention to pass the necessary laws.
- What regulations should be urgently adopted?
- Laws on protection of the personal data are missing, about secret data classification, about treatment of secret services' dossiers...
- Does that mean that you are dissatisfied with the Governmental cooperation?
- It is not about cooperation, but about law implementation. I really don't have personal interest in being satisfied or not. The law has envisaged the right to receive the information, the right of complaint to the Commissioner has also been envisaged. The law says that the one to whom Commissioner orders to deliver the information, should do so or the Government shall provide for its execution.
- Who appeared as the most open for public?
- In the last year, by the jury decision, made of the representatives of NGOs and journalists, the award went to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Effort of the whole network of trade courts is visible, in trying to arrange better communication with the public. There are also nice examples in the interior.
- And who imposed the biggest amount of problems for you?
- In the report we have submitted to the Assembly, as an example of the Ministry that had serious problems in law implementation, was Ministry for Capital Investments. BIA has, practically, ignored the law, they didn't perform the most elementary obligations. But many of the more important bodies obeyed the law, like the Parliament, President of the Republic, Government...
- You said that your job is to confront the power when necessary...
- That is the task of any Commissioner, ombudsman, every Commissioner for Human Rights Protection or for Data Protection.
- And you expect victory?
- We speak about the right of the citizens to know what the government they have elected does and how the money those same citizens have set aside by paying tax is spent. Therefore I deeply believe that this idea must win.
Boxed bold text: REINFORCEMENT TO BE EXPECTD - Are you satisfied with the amount of money you have been allocated this year from the budget?
- The money shall suffice. The Commissioner has all the time instead working with 21, worked with six people. I shall have to strengthen my team, due to the “flood” of cases. There are more than three thousand of them. The one who knows what administrative procedure is, knows that this can not be resolved with such a small number of people.
