Radulović: Abuse of service contracts is growing while the prosecution remains silent

There are issues that no one even attempts to conceal anymore. They have become so exposed that they turn into an open secret - a systemic practice that becomes normalized, even as it erodes trust in institutions. Service contracts within the state apparatus have long ceased to be the exception and have become the rule. They are not awarded as a result of genuine institutional need, but as rewards, compensation, or political currency. Citizens know this. Professionals know this. The only question is - why do those who are obliged to react remain silent?

Even though it is common knowledge that service contracts in the public sector are handed out like chocolates accompanying a greeting card, citizens pay a high price for these engagements, which are intended for relatives, friends, godparents, and associates. The State Prosecutor’s Office sees nothing problematic in this - or at least has not reacted so far. Yet it should, because there is ample material to examine. Attorney Veselin Radulović shares this view, warning in a statement to the ETV Portal that abuses of service contracts will only increase as long as the State Prosecutor’s Office remains silent.

Service contracts are concluded without adequate planning of the need for engagement, through non-transparent selection of contracted individuals, without formal procedures governing the hiring process, without proper records of the contracts, and without transparency in the procedure.

The scale of the problem is also reflected in budget figures. The Government has allocated 15.5 million euros for this purpose in the 2026 Budget.

Attorney Veselin Radulović told Portal ETV that the abuse of service contracts has, unfortunately, become a common practice through which the authorities secure political gain and fulfill promises to their sympathizers and supporters, naturally at the expense of the state budget and all citizens of Montenegro.

This assessment precisely captures the essence of the problem - the service contract as an instrument of political reward rather than a legal mechanism for engaging professional expertise.

Radulović further warns that it is not uncommon for certain public officials, after their legal mandate expires or their office ends, to be re-engaged under service contracts as advisers, consultants, and the like.

- Thus, we have the opportunity to see individuals who have spent their entire working lives „on the budget“ without any concrete results, then retire, and afterward, in addition to their pension, receive additional funds from the budget as advisers or consultants“.

The key problem, he emphasizes, is institutional passivity.

- The State Prosecutor’s Office has never adequately addressed these phenomena, and precisely because of that, such abuses exist and will continue to increase. They are, logically, particularly pronounced ahead of elections, when support for remaining in power is sought in this manner. However, we are increasingly witnessing this even in periods when elections are not imminent, and this will continue until the competent authorities begin to address the issue and hold accountable those who, in this way, cause damage to the state budget while securing personal and political gain for themselves and others - the attorney concluded in a statement to Portal ETV.