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Ministry of Agriculture denies allegations of MANS
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Ministry of Agriculture denies allegations of MANS
Published on: Aug 24, 2020 • 8:48 PM Author: PR Service
Reaction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the text in the daily Dan:
We resolutely deny all allegations and accusations presented in the daily newspaper Dan, regarding the alleged concealment of payments for consulting services in the Water Management Programme in 2020.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development did not pay a single euro of funds, from the budget Water Management Programme, for any consulting services in the current year.
- The funds in question were provided from non-refundable funds (the Global Environment Facility and the Special Climate Change Fund) and not from the Water Management Program, and were paid for contracted activities on the project "Western Balkans Drina River Basin Management" in 2020 in the amount of EUR 696,126.04 and not EUR 636,000 as the text reads.
- Except in Montenegro, the World Bank is implementing this project in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
- The project is fully implemented in accordance with the rules and procedures of the World Bank, which is implemented in Montenegro by the Unit for Technical Support in cooperation with the Project implementation team. These units are formed in accordance with the requirements and procedures of the World Bank in all three beneficiary countries of the project, and data on the Project and all procurements are regularly published on the website of the World Bank.
- The project has regional and national activities and each country makes payments, in accordance with national procedures.
- In Montenegro, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development makes payments from the general account of the Consulting services, projects and studies.
- Therefore, all funds from donations and loans that are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are recorded in budget position 4147 - Consulting services, projects and studies, with a clear note in the analytical card, on the source of funding. From the name of this budget position, it is clear that in addition to consulting services, it contains projects and studies!
- The review shows that these are not payments for consulting services, but payments for project activities.
- This way of posting has been agreed with the Ministry of Finance for all projects that involve the payment of funds on the basis of donations and loans.
All activities on the project, procurement and payments, are subject to independent control by the World Bank and independent auditors, of which there are positive reports.
Based on the successful implementation of all these activities, the World Bank has approved an additional EUR 15 million to Montenegro for infrastructure works on the coastal fortifications on Grnčar and Lim, the implementation of which will begin soon.
Also, the Ministry submits reports on monthly spending to the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, which is in line with the restrictions set by the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns. Based on the opinion of the Agency, funds from donations are not subject to the obligation to report.
PR Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
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