This was said today at a press conference in the Ministry of Forestry of the RS, dedicated to the situation in the “Forests of the RS”.
The acting director of JP “Shume RS” Blaško Kaurin said that in the management of “Shume RS” and forest farms are looking for a way to provide money for contributions.
More than 4,500 workers in this public company do not have health insurance since January 14 due to unpaid contributions. Kaurin did not say how much the tax debt is currently, but it is known that “Šume RS” owed about 4.6 million KM at the end of November.
Kaurin said that managers should talk about the financial situation in forest farms.
– Every manager is responsible for the financial condition of his farm, they should answer why they are paid late, why the planned production is not fulfilled and the like – Kaurin added.
He reminded that the new management in this company started working in November, and that he personally has the goal of raising the level of production to 120 percent this year and that the company operates positively.
“RS Forests” has 32 organizational units, and in most forest farms, salaries are late, which is why, as announced by the union, the workers are preparing for a work stoppage.
An expert team was formed for “Šume RS” in the last quarter of last year due to the bad situation in the company. The team was formed after the President of the RS Milorad Dodik wrote on his profile of the “X” network that there are indications that an organized gang has appeared in the “Forests”. Managers who performed negatively were dismissed, new ones were appointed. In November, it was said that it is impossible to achieve a positive result by the beginning of 2025, because the loss at the end of the 9th month amounted to 6.23 million KM and only 64 percent of the planned production was achieved.
Radenko Laketić, head of the expert team and assistant minister for forestry of the RS, said that at the level of last year, about 84 percent of production was achieved.
– That is insufficient for a positive financial result – added Laketić.
Savo Minic, Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the RS, stated that in the last three years, cutting in the “Forests of the RS” has been reduced by 32 percent, which is more than 600,000 cubic meters.
– On the other hand, with the central account, we dealt with bad students, that is, those who did well fought for their money. We had to dislocate the money in a different way – said Minic.
He said that the manager of ŠG “Drinić” was dismissed yesterday, and that this practice will be continued in the future.
– Wood processors have villas, expensive cars and the like, while “Šume RS” is in losses. There’s something seriously wrong with that. Now it is up to the investigative authorities to find out what it is about – Minic believes.
He assessed that “Forests of the RS”, bearing in mind their potential, should pay an annual dividend of up to ten million KM to the budget of the RS.
At this press conference, it was also announced that the case of African swine fever was confirmed yesterday at two locations in Semberija.
– All measures have been taken according to the protocol and we hope to extinguish these two hotspots – said Assistant Minister for Veterinary Medicine Negoslav Lukić.
(Vijesti.ba/FENA)
