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01. 08. 2014

The Media Coalition calls on the municipal administration in Nis to cancel the biased public procurement of public information services

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1.8.2014 - At the time when a set of media laws is being adopted aiming at improving information and media freedoms in accordance with European standards, the Media Coalition (media and journalist associations, PU "Lokal pres", ANEM, NUNS, UNS and NDNV) are pointing to irregularities and possible misuse of the allocation of public resources for the needs of informing the citizens in the City of Nis.

The Media Coalition hereby calls on the local authorities in Nis to conform the institute of public procurement with the principles of project-based financing, as provided by the Media Strategy and prescribed by the aforementioned set of new media laws that is in the pipeline. The Media Coalition recommends the public procurement procedure that is under way to be cancelled without delay.

Otherwise, we should ask ourselves are the local authorities in Nis deliberately hurrying to channel significant budget funds to selected media outlets before the coming into force of the new laws.

The public procurement called for the provision of information services relevant for the City of Nis states that "informing the public about the activities of the Mayor, the municipal administration and holders of public office" is a priority. We remind that the public interest in the area of public information involves, among other things, the production and release of "general news and specialized media content relevant for the life and work of the citizens in local and regional communities", while the aforementioned formulation of the priority of the public procurement called by the City of Nis favours reporting about the activities of public officials.

The Media Coalition also points out the fact that the local administration in Nis has foreseen the lowest offered price as the sole criteria for the public procurement, instead of quality of information.

The Media Coalition believes the intention of appointing, as members of the Commission that will allocate the funds, only persons from the Mayor's office and the municipal administration, to be unacceptable. The Law on Public Information and the Media, which is being adopted in the Parliament, stipulates that such commission will be comprised of competent members of the public, professional associations and sectors that are not financed from the budget.

The Media Coalition reacted last year too, warning about the shortcomings and embezzlement related to the allocation of funds for public information of the citizens of Nis and this time we expect the Competition Protection Agency to also react to the above described biased public procurement.

We hereby also call the Government of Serbia, which is the proposer of the laws arising from the Media Strategy, the competent ministries and relevant national and international organizations, to protect the citizens from the arbitrary actions of local authorities, which are subduing public information to their political interests.


On the 1st of August, 2014  

THE MEDIA COALITION 

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