05.10.2016.

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Separate procurement procedures are a waste of money for the national and local governments

Expedient financing of personal and asset protection was the topic of a discussion held on Monday, October 3, in Loznica. The discussion was organized by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), with the support of PAKT Loznica organization, one of the partners of the PRO-CURE Group. Case study “Why ...

Expedient financing of personal and asset protection was the topic of a discussion held on Monday, October 3, in Loznica. The discussion was organized by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), with the support of PAKT Loznica organization, one of the partners of the PRO-CURE Group.

Case study “Why doesn’t hail protection in Serbia work?” by Miroslav Mijatovic was also presented during the discussion.

“Separate anti-hail rocket procurement procedures are a waste of money for the national and local governments. Centralized procurement would save us enough money to buy rockets for ten local governments”, the author of the study points out.

When it comes to hail protection, the jurisdictions and the rights of local governments have to be precisely determined, it was stated at the meeting.

“The new law on hail defense is a missed opportunity to make this system more efficient. Due to loose jurisdictions, none of the actors involved in the hail defense system – Ministry of Interior, Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia or local governments – are responsible for the annual damage caused by hailstorms in Serbia which amounts to 40-100 million euros”, warns BCSP researcher Vladimir Erceg.

Participants of the discussion agreed that investing in the procurement of enough anti-hail rockets, paying the shooters, and the maintenance of anti-hail stations is money well spent.

“Despite legal and financial problems, the municipal authorities of Loznica have managed to acquire one season’s supply of anti-hail rockets, as well as to find an acceptable way to pay the shooters. The problem of refurbishment and maintenance of anti-hail stations remains unsolved”, concludes Jovan Miladinovic, head of the Department of Economy of the town of Loznica.

Representatives of municipal administrations and the city hall, representatives of farmers, as well as media representatives and representatives of the civil society organizations from Loznica participated in the discussion.

The event was part of the project PRO-CURE: Strengthening Civil Scrutiny of Public Procurement in the Security Sectororganized by BCSP and Society Against Corruption with the financial support of the EU Delegation to Serbia and the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society of the Republic of Serbia.

Report was translated by BCSP Intern Aleksandra Lazic.

 

Tags: ..., &ldquo, civil, discussion, governments, local, loznica, money, national, procedures, procurement, protection, representatives, rockets, serbia, society, waste

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