April 24, 2019 - NGO Maškarada accused the Mayor of Tivat Dr. Siniša Kusovac (DPS) for intentionally mining the project of the International Summer Carnival in Tivat.
This tourist-entertainment event premiered last year with significant financial support from the local administration and the Tourist Organization of Tivat, and the city and local tourism leaders were then very proud of the carnival and were very satisfied with the quality of this event and the number of guests it gathered. The municipality is now, however, drastically "finishing the financial tap" for the carnival, which is perceived as a political pressure by the local DPS-SD-HGI government in the Maškarada as a summer carnival manager Goran Božović, who a few months ago due to the conflict with Kusovac, publicly left the DPS and moved to the Montenegrin party.
"Even though at the session of the Municipal Assembly of Tivat, at the end of December, when it adopted the budget for 2019, it was publicly confirmed that this year the municipality would be the sponsor of the carnival contributing 20 thousand euros as last year, the Municipality changed the decision, arbitrarily broke the deal and that amount fell to only 2,000. By the above procedure, Kusovac directly undermines the event with the desire to release it, and only for the sake of personal animosity to Goran Božović, the carnival manager, which he has repeatedly confirmed with his public announcements," said the Managing Board of Maškarada and the Organizing Committee of the Summer Carnival.
They recall that last year there were over 500 participants in the international carnival procession in Tivat, of which about 250 from abroad, while the whole event brought together around 10,000 visitors. The Carnival cost about 60 thousand euros and was financed, each with one-third of the required money, by the Tivat Municipality, the Tourist Organization, and the Maškarada. They say that the same principle was agreed for the upcoming carnival and that the municipality publicly took on the obligation to allocate 20,000 euros for it.
"However, by neglecting the public agreement, Mayor Kusovac on 4 February this year made changes the
Proposal of the Program of Fundraising events, organized by the Secretary of Culture Dubravka Nikčević, only and exclusively in the part of the financial support to the International Carnival, reducing the sum by 10 times, to only 2,000 euros," said the Maškarada. They regret that Kusovac, who is also the president of DPS Tivat, resolves his political dispute with Božović over the back of that organization that gathers citizens of different political positions and attitudes, and has won numerous awards for her carnival performances in the country and abroad.
"Is it possible that the President of the Municipality, which is a member of the Federation of European Carnival Towns, is trying to bring down the Carnival based on which Tivat became a member of that Federation?" said Maškarada, adding that carnival will be despite all obstructions and that this event will be held as planned, from 6 to 9 June this year.
