Source: Danas
The Prime Minister of Vojvodina is also asking for the information on the concession for the Horgos - Pozega motorway
Novi Sad, Belgrade - The president of the Executive Council of Vojvodina, Bojan Pajtic, is also asking for the insight into the concession agreement for the Horgos - Pozega motorway. Pajtic says that “there is nothing more natural than for the representatives of the regional authorities to have an insight into something which is happening in their region.”- It would be natural and logical if we had the insight into that arrangement from the very beginning - says Pajtic.
The Speaker of the Vojvodina Assembly, Bojan Kostres, asked the Commissioner for the information of public importance, Rodoljub Sabic, to be allowed to have an insight into the concession agreement. However, even after the Sabic's order to the Ministry for Capital Investments and the Ministry of Finance for this to be done, Minister Velimir Ilic said that he could not meet Kostres's request since “it is the Government who decides about the insight into the agreement.” He also added that he could not allow an insight into an agreement which also includes a business secret of the chosen company. Two days ago Ilic said that he would not stay at the ministerial position should the Government impugn the contract on the construction of the Horgos - Pozega motorway.
Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic maintains that it is the right of the public to know everything about the conditions under which an extremely valuable resource of the country, such as the concession for the Horgos - Pozega motorway, is put at somebody's disposal. In his yesterday's statement, Sabic points out that some contradictory and unclear statements of those responsible in the case of the access to the information from the concession agreement have caused doubts among a part of the public about the facts which are relevant in that legal affair, as well as about the contents and scope of the Law on Free Access to the Information of Public Importance.
- In connection with the manner in which the confidentiality issue has been regulated by the concession agreement, it is intriguing that it was contracted that literally all the information on the construction of the motorway are deemed confidential, says Sabic. According to his assessment, free access to the information is not in contradiction even with the provision laid down in item 24.2 of the Concession Agreement which regulates the issue of “confidentiality.” Although rigid, this provision stipulates several exceptions to the confidentiality, he said, adding that “even the contracting parties themselves have not contracted the possibility of limiting access to the information when the request for the access to the information is based on our regulations.” The concession agreement for the Horgos - Pozega motorway with a Spanish-Austrian consortium was signed by the previous Government on 30th March. U. U.
Unlawful silence of the administration
Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic points out that after the request of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina for the access to information, that is, to the concession agreement for the motorway, the Ministry for Capital Investment “spent the statutory period of 15 days in an unacceptable, even punishable, 'silence of the administration'.” The Ministry has then, again outside the law, “extended the deadline to 40 days, only for this one to pass again without the effect foreseen by the law.” Neither the Assembly of AP Vojvodina has been provided with the requested information, nor has a decision on the declining of the request been passed, by which all the relevant provisions of the Law on Free Access to the Information of Public Importance have been violated, says Sabic.
