Belgrade's public utility companies owe suppliers 30 billion dinars, claims the Center for Local Self-Government. In September, the Government of Serbia transferred almost one billion dinars from the budget reserve to the City due to the risk of insolvency
Debts of Belgrade's public utility companies towards suppliers reached 30 billion dinars in September, which Beograd found himself on the edge of the financial abyss, he declared Nikola Jovanovic, director of the Center for Local Self-Government and former councilor of the Belgrade City Assembly.
"The republican government will try to financially pull Belgrade out of the living mire by rebalancing the budget, which is expected on October 5, but this will fundamentally not solve any of the systemic problems that led to this state of affairs," Jovanović assessed.
No amount of pre-election make-up can appease the enormous dissatisfaction of the citizens of Belgrade, concluded the director of the Center for Local Self-Government.
Last week, the Government of Serbia diverted 995.875 million dinars from the budget reserve. The funds were previously in the budget of the Ministry of Finance and intended for the execution of court proceedings.
By decision of the Government, the money was transferred to the current budget reserve, and then redistributed to the Ministry of Finance for transfer to Belgrade, with the explanation that it is about obligations, the fulfillment of which may threaten the current liquidity of the City, it says. Forbes Serbia.
According to Forbes Serbia analysis, around 32,1 billion dinars were transferred to cities and municipalities in Serbia from 2019 to 2024 through this mechanism. Of that, 21,4 billion was related to the fulfillment of obligations explained by the possible threat of current liquidity.
The transfer to Belgrade comes after the city budget for 2026 has already been changed twice. The initial budget was 190,2 billion dinars, which was increased to 193,1 billion with the February rebalancing. With the second rebalancing, adopted in June, the total funds of the city were increased to 202,15 billion dinars, with the explanation that the expected revenues and incomes are higher than originally planned.
Ivan Komarica, president of the Belgrade on the Move organization, commented on the decision to transfer the money, stating that Belgrade is not a poor city, but that there is a serious problem with the way money is managed.
He also said that Mayor Aleksandar Šapić should explain to the citizens of Belgrade how their city was brought to this situation.
He called for one of the first moves of the new government after the change of government to be the introduction of a temporary authority in Belgrade.
"That is why one of the first moves of the new Government after the change of government at the republican level must be to, in accordance with the law, create the conditions for the introduction of a temporary authority in Belgrade and the calling of new city elections. On the same day, a complete control of all contracts, public procurement, debts and financial flows of the City must begin," Komarica said.
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A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
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