It is a public secret in the company that some conductors use special pencils by which they write one ticket price, and later re-write the same and put part of the money in their pockets. This information was confirmed by several people from ZPCG who claim that there is a whole network, from conductors to senior management, who take significant revenue from the company.
The NGO "Railway Research Center" officially states that the problem with charging freight tickets and abuse on the railway has lasted for a long time and that the state authorities haven’t conducted a check. NGO has calculated that this "ticket job" could cost the state about half a million euro per year.
The management of the company did not want to respond to the shifts at the position of the conductor control. The Director of ZPCG, Predrag Popovic, acknowledged the incident in February after numerous appeals and suggestions of misuse by the conductors.
PHOTO: Boris Pejović
The change led by conductor Čedo Kavarić has resulted in a monthly increase in revenue of almost EUR 30,000 in March, and last month's revenues increased compared to the comparable annual period of EUR 60,000.
The well-informed sources at ZPCG say that although they achieved an excellent result, Kavarić, who has the support of the director, will not control the conductors for a long time, as he allegedly got in the way of the individuals who were disrupting ticket sales.
The predecessor of Kavaric, Miroslav Brajovic, is known as a player of Režad Nuhodžić, who has been the CEO of the company and chairman of the board of directors. Nuhodzic, although he has not been a part of the railway for a few years, still has a significant impact on the traffic system and is considered to be the chief operating officer whose attitude is powerful. His close friend, Eldin Mucevic, is now chairman of the board of directors of ZPCG. Now, Nuhodzic's players are doing everything possible so that Kavarić does not stay as the conductors’ controller, in order to cover up what has been done for years in this area, i.e. neglect and disorder, said one of the sources.
If there are malversations when charging for cheap railway tickets (from Podgorica to Bar or Niksic which costs two euro) and the state system is at harm, the question is how much money has been lost when it comes to expensive jobs and projects such as track reconstruction, purchasing spare parts and the most doubtful maintenance and service of the trains, which for years has filled the columns of the press, questioning the regularity of these jobs.
Milisav Dragojevic from the NGO "Railway Research Center" and one of the people with whom Montenegro recognized the status of "whistleblower" also spoke to the press. He claims that the problem of charging railway cards and abuse on the railroad has happened for a long time without any attempt to fix it.
Dragojević PHOTO: Savo Prelević
There was an attempt in 2011 when the executive director, Dragoljub Saranovic, prepared a criminal charge against one conductor who wrote the cards with an erasable pencil, that is, he wrote a ticket price, and later he erased it and wrote a smaller figure, putting part of the money in his pocket. Šaranović informed the Traffic Minister at that time. Nothing happened in that respect, and Saranovic was removed from that function after two or three months, Dragojević said.
According to him, nothing has been done from that time until the appointment of Kavarić as the controller. He explains that given the fact that there is nearly 30,000 more for one month (not counting revenues from international trains charged to the cash register in Belgrade and shared by a separate methodology) it is clear "what the crime is and how much money outflows from the company. "
"The 30,000 per month on the annual level is about 360,000 of local revenue. When international transport is added, we come to half a million euro. This is a good investment for the company. Individuals cannot do it, but all that goes from the management of the company. There was even a disciplinary procedure in 2014 when the conductor admitted that there was a correction in the delivery of daily earnings and it was agreed that one of the directors would get EUR 300. This disciplinary procedure was stopped, " said Dragojević. He adds that there are people from the shadows who have been involved in railway malversations for years and are protected and that Nuhodzic is one of those involved in many jobs.
Railway transport is on the blacklist of the Tax Administration office because of the debt for taxes and contributions for employees. It is in debt of four million euro.
Resad Nuhodic, now the state secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, said that he dismisses all the accusations on his account because he does not see how he can influence the company he left in late 2012. He also said that those who are accusing him should be addressing the prosecution and the police.
Nuhodžić PHOTO: Luka Zeković
"I left the Railway Transport in late 2012 and have no connections with the traffic, so I'm not clear how I can influence the company's decisions. They are state institutions, so if some of them are familiar with this information, the least expected of them is to react with the police and prosecution and file charges. All the other stories I reject with indignation," said Nuhodzic.
He said that everyone, even Dragojevic, if they have any knowledge, should react with the competent authorities, but also that everyone is responsible for every uttered word.
Text by Marija Mirjacic, on May 15th, 2018, read more at Vijesti
