Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic said that she was convinced that Serbia would succeed in harmonizing with EU regulations and transforming public companies in the field of energy that currently operate at the expense of the state and at a loss.
“Companies in this department today practically employ at least 65,000 people directly, not to mention indirectly, through all other companies. All of them, although they show a certain profit, are a serious question of what that profit is and whether it is a profit at all, since the state jumps in with money and everything necessary for it to function at any time, whenever it is needed,” Mihajlovic said in an interview with Radio Free Europe, it was reported in the announcement.
It is best in Serbia today to be the director of a public company, a state company, because you are not responsible for anything, the state does everything for you, says Mihajlovic and states that those companies must bring profit and better energy quality, reports Tanjug.
Mihailovic emphasized that companies must first be organized, and that started with the adoption of decisions by the Government in connection with the reorganization of Srbijagas and Elektroprivreda Srbije.
“We are talking about reforming Srbijagas and EPS since 2014, and they also have gas transport and gas distribution on paper, just as EPS had separate distribution on paper, ie distribution system operators. But, now we are going for a complete separation and the decision of the Government for that has been made,” she says.
Also, it is important to know what a transparent business is and to know what the real priorities are in the work of those companies, which projects are of importance and significance in the field of gasification, she added.
She pointed out that the Ministry, together with those companies, will carry out those works.
This means that the property will be divided, the capital will be clearly determined and those companies will have their assemblies, appointed primarily by the Ministry of Economy, ie the Government of Serbia, and not as it was before, say, the director of Srbijagas appoints the director of Transportgas, the director of Distribucijegas, and that is no real, transparent work there,” Mihailovic points out.
The citizens are essentially suffering, we are all suffering because the gas sector can really bring huge profits, she stated.
Mihajlovic emphasized that there is no country in the world that has a gas company, whether it is state-owned or partly state-owned, partly private, which operates at a loss and with such low efficiency as Srbijagas.
He reminds that the gasification of Serbia has been talked about for 20 years, and that this has been the most important goal for the previous 10 years.
He also said that nothing had happened on the territory of central or southern Serbia.
He notes that Serbia has not yet connected with the region, and we must make interconnectors with the region.
“On the other hand, there is no money. That money went somewhere in that previous period. This is where things will change seriously. I still believe that the management structure must be completely different,” said Mihajlovic, Politika reports.
