Source: "Blic"
Which information are inaccessible to the public
The Commissioner wrote a letter in which he complains to the Prime Minister. Inglorious leader the Ministry of Finance – in 20 cases it failed to adhere to the binding decision of the Commissioner
The Government of Serbia, despite the warrant issued by Rodoljub Sabic, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, is still hiding the information about the five biggest investments in Serbia. The Government also keeps secret the information as to who the biggest state debtors are, in what manner „Duvanska industrija Nis“ was sold, but also data on the criminal proceedings related to the death of the journalist Dada Vujasinovic.
Among the information that no one has access to are those related to the Beska bridge construction, the permit to perform construction activities in the business center „Usce“ in Belgrade, the purchase of used train wagons from Sweden by
Zeleznica Srbije“, as well as the specification of refurbished wagons and the obligations towards „Zelvoz“.
Sabic estimates that the Ministry of Finance is an „inglorious leader“ in information blocking, since in 20 cases it failed to adhere to the binding decision of the Commissioner. The Ministry also failed to provide information on the results of the budget inspection controls conducted in other ministries and state institutions from 2002 until 2009.
- Crime, malpractice and corruption are not always hidden behind the failure to provide information – says Sabic.
But his experience tells him that each unjustified failure to provide information is indicative of something and deserves attention. This is contained in the NIS example. While this was a state-owned company, its leadership failed to adhere to the Commissioner’s decisions on several occasions, even when it came to, in his words, „trivial“ information. The information on the salaries of leading executives, the costs of representation, the donation amounts were not being disclosed. Not only the leadership failed to adhere to the Commissioner’s decisions, they also filed a motion against the Commissioner at the Supreme Court of Serbia. This motion was thrown out. Some time later, the Commissioner’s office faced a reality that behind the rigid attitude towards the public lays the fact that at NIS not only the Law on the Free Access to Information, but also the Law on Public Procurement, do not apply.
- And even later, when a foreigner became the larger shareholder, we faced the fact that the „elite“ representative of the state industrial sector is actually a large debtor – Sabic explains.
What is hidden in the data inaccessible to the public, despite the Commissioner’s decision, related to the ski lift construction on Kopaonik, the projects in the municipality of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, the public procurement documentation of the majority shareholder of „Srbija turist“, the „Alba“ – Novi Sad auction, the contract on DDOR share sale, the documentation on the sale of the „Beko“ company, the contract on joint investment of „Krusik“ Valjevo and the „Irma“ company or the contract between NIS and the „Trizon group“ company, is a question to which the public is awaiting answers.
The day before yesterday he sent a letter to the Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic warning the Government of Serbia of the fact that it is not fulfilling its legal obligation to ensure that the Commissioner’s decisions, which are binding, final and executory, are followed through.
- It is very important for the Government to finally start fulfilling its legal obligation, which is to, in case there is a need, ensure that the Commissioner’s decisions are followed through – Sabic insists.
He adds that, looking from the perspective of unanswered requests, the problem might not seem big, because in several thousand cases his interventions were fruitful without having to issue a formal decision. In more than 1.700 cases he had to issue formal decisions. A great number of those decisions have not been respected. Around 300 of them, or six percent of the total number of complaints, are still a secret.
- Taken into consideration the importance of the information that have remained inaccessible, those six percent is definitely not a small percentage. Besides that, the number of unfulfilled decisions is constantly increasing. During the mandate of the current Government, the number has doubled, and this should not be underestimated – Sabic mentions.
Entrefilet: The letter sent to the Prime Minister now in a drawer
The Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, according to the Minister Milan Markovic, did not share with the Government of Serbia the letter that Rodoljub Sabic, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, sent to its members via the Prime Minister. Maybe this information alone attests to how serious the Government of Serbia takes its legal obligation related to the accessibility of information of public importance.
They are hiding information about...
- The five biggest investments in Serbia
- 10 corporate entities which are the biggest state debtors
- The construction of the Beska bridge and the Kopaonik ski lift
- Projects in the municipality of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja
- The permit to perform construction activities in the business center „Usce“
- The procurement of 10 used wagons from Sweden, the specifications of refurbished wagons, and all obligations of the „Zeleznice Srbije“ public company towards „Zelvoz“
- The „Duvanska industrija Nis“ sale contract
- The procurement documentation of the majority shareholder of „Srbija turist“ – Nis
- The „Alba“ – Novi Sad auction
- The DDOR share sale contract
- The „Beko“ company sale documentation
- The contract on joint investment of „Krusik“ Valjevo and the „Irma“ company
- The contract between NIS and the „Trizon group“ company
- The criminal proceedings with regards to the tragic death of the journalist Radoslava Vujasinovic
*From 4.500 complaints, in two thirds of cases the intervention of the Commissioner yielded a result even without a formal decision. The Commissioner issued more than 1.700 formal decisions and a great number of those have been executed. The number of decisions that has not been executed is 300, or around six percent of the total number of complaints filed.
