Writes: Dusko JOVANOVIC, a representative in the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro (10th December 2000. “DAN”)

The general director of the Aluminum Plant through media promises nothing but successes.
Probably this is the reason why he sees the privatization of Aluminum Plant in the next two or three years or maybe later.
At the moment when its debts are more than 50 pre cent of its value then it will be probably privatized actually it will be forwarded to the creditors.
On the questions like how much does the Aluminum Plant owe to the Electric Power Company and to Bauxite mines from Niksic, the director avoids answering.
As if he didn’t know.
However, he knows and promises that the number of employees will decrease year by year, until 2000.
It is wondering that the director doesn’t think that by the widening of capacities he could engage the alleged surplus of employees. The only solution for him is the decreasing the number of the employees.
The director claims that the negotiations with the main creditors are still in progress, and the main creditors are Standard Bank of London, Glencore and Vektra from Podgorica.
So, there are three main creditors.
The presumption that the debt of KAP towards the Standard Bank of London resulted through the crediting even though it isn’t known what sum it was about.
The debt to Glencore also without the data of amount is a matter of obligations from the international “partnership” or “cover”.
One of three biggest KAP’s creditors is a private company “Vektra” which did jobs of sale and production for KAP which KAP and its commercialists couldn’t by themselves, so the debts has become enormous.
However, “Vektra” from Podgorica with only twenty employees succeeded to charge KAP which has more than 3.000 employees to the measures to become one of three biggest creditors.
Everything has begun with “Vectra” of course with the Government of Montenegro blessing and everything will end with it.

Heating with gymnastics
Unlike the Aluminum Plant which privatization is delayed the privatization of the Electric Power Company is announced, or at least the part which is clean actually, which is not in debts.
Of course, before the privatization the state will correct the price of the electric power actually it will make the price up to the world’s level.
In that way the president of the Managing Board of the Electric Power Company states (the daily “Pobjeda” 19th November) that with higher prices of the current we will have more light. Of course, he says, the electric current heating in the world represent luxury, so he recommends alternative, cheaper, or even free heating sources.
He probably recommends push-ups and jumping.
The president of the Managing Board of the Electric Power Company announced that the Aluminum Plant and the Ironworks would be excused from the new high price of the electric current.
His explanation is:
- Raising the price for just one pfennig for KAP for example would raise the expanses for 17 and in Ironworks for two million DEM which would result with the lower salaries or profit of these companies.
Or, it would reduce the profit of the individuals who thanks to KAP don’t need to worry for the existence of few generations.
Unlike that, the president of the Managing Board predicts that the raising of electric current prices will make the households to spend it more rationally.
He wants to say that until now, regarding the electric current the citizens have wasted it.
Together with the announcement of raising the prices we got the information that we will be in the lack of electric current for the need of our “vertical” state in the worth of 75 million DEM.
If Slobodan Milosevic was “politically alive”, the “vertical” Montenegro would probably obtain at least a half of this amount by begging, in this case the citizens will pay the full price.
If were fortunate and if there were more responsible government the bigger part of the “missing” money would be paid by someone else.
Actually, the general director of KAP admitted that KAP spent 50% or the half of the necessary electric current in Montenegro.
KAP is spending the electric current which will be paid by the citizens and it will still make debts at the Standard Bank of London, Glencore and Vektra.
Hence, unlike KAP the citizens of Montenegro won’t have the electric current and we can expect and we will get the restrictions actually, we will get darkness.
KAP will be excused from the darkness.
Somebody has to earn.
Guess who?

The turned off stoves of the Ironworks.
Ten days after these “elaborations” the situation is different in one part.
Actually, “Ironworks” Niksic has stopped its electric power spending.
The reason the production was stopped.
Instead of being the front page with the title “Alarming” the regime’s daily “Pobjeda” published this information shyly, almost unnoticed (1st December).
For the beginning, the production will be stopped until the 9th January next year. The general director of “Ironworks” stated that the main reason for stopping the production was impossibility of the presentation of the products on the Serbian market.
He didn’t say what he as a head of the leading coalition in Montenegro had done or was doing to provide that presentation.
As an economist and as a politician he should know that the condition for “using” the privileges of the market in Serbia it is necessary that in Montenegro the federal state has to function.
Let him explain to the employees of the “Ironworks” what their interests are.
And until then let him or his boss to provide the selling of the produced iron to Italy, America, Albania, or Croatia.
If they care about the “Ironworks” and its employees, they will do that.
Or maybe this is about something else.
Maybe Montenegro is too small for the leading coalition or too narrow for the Aluminum Plant and Ironworks together.
And they decided KAP to survive.
For now.

“Jugopetrol” sells the fuel for Serbia
The conclusion that by paying huge prices of the fuel the citizens of Montenegro are paying the functioning of the expansive state apparatus Coalition “For a Better Living” has been affirmed by “Jugopetrol” from Kotor.
Actually, “Montena fax” published and “Blic” carried that “Jugopetrol” from Kotor accepted the information of stopping the fuel and its derivates embargo for the import in FR Yugoslavia with a pleasure.
That means that there are conditions for selling of about 200.000 tones of fuel to Serbia.
It should be normal that this fuel is purchased for the same money for Montenegro. Or at least it should be a little bit cheaper because of the transport costs to Serbia.
Aside all this, the price of petrol in Serbia fell from 38 dinars per litter to 36 and somewhere even 35,5 dinars per litter. In Montenegro a new rise prices has been announced.
That is so logical.
The costs of the Coalition “For a Better Living” remained the same, but the incomes either they were from smuggling or from the international help for anti – Yugoslav “job”, were weaker.
What will happen when they vanish?

The godfather is very important
The money was spent and is spent and we can see that on the example of the Radio-Television Montenegro.
It has been spent seven million DEM more than it was planned.
One thing is sure; no one will be called for the responsibility for it.
The godfather is very important.
And in the case of the television the government is searching for the solution; how their losses can be covered by the citizens?
Hence, soon after the publishing of the “affair” with the Television and its debts, (28th November) a week after interesting analyses came from the Television itself (“Blic” 5th December).
We come to know that every telephone bill have been higher for 47 pfennig on the behalf of the television subscription.
The assistant of the financial director in RT Montenegro considers that the citizens should pay five DEM a month if they want to enjoy the program of Radio-Television Montenegro.
They all would pay without an exception.
That is raise of 900% relating the current subscription price.
The explanation of the assistant of the general director is nothing but funny.
He considers that if a newspaper costs a regular reader 12 DEM a month what then 5 DEM are for Radio-Television Montenegro and “Your Third Channel”.
Now when we have so many private televisions why anyone would pay the state’s one when it is such like this one is.
And all this big money which television receives is the money of the Montenegrin citizens.
And that seven million DEM which they had spent were the money of the Montenegrin citizens.
That is much, too much.

The strangers in Budva
The head of “Budvanska Rivijera” take the economic and political advantage.
Just to remind, first the head of DPS argued about the “privatization” of “Mogren”.
They said bad words to each other.
Then that argument became deeper because of “renting” six elite hotels of “Budvanska Rivijera” to some alleged French company “Accor”.
Than again in DPS they said bad words to each other.
Now when the Russians allegedly decided to rent the hotel “4th July” in Petrovac there are the problems again.
We come to know that the procedure about the renting can come to the court in Luxembourg. It seems that the president of the Montenegrin Parliament and the vice president of DPS is better in politics than in economy.
He will have to “give up” from “Budvanska Rivijera” and to give it over to much more experienced colleges from DPS.
If not, there won’t be strangers in Budva.

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