Another public official in the media commissions - Slavoljub Ristić, Chairman of the Management Board of the Republic Institution Film News.
The Government of the Republic of Serbia appointed Slavoljub Ristić, the General Secretary of the Professional Association of Journalists of Serbia (PROUNS), as the President of the Board of the Public Institution Film News on March 12 of this year, thus making him a public official.
Despite being registered in the Public Officials Registry of the Anti-Corruption Agency, Slavoljub Ristić continues to participate in the work of committees evaluating media projects in the field of public information, even though the Law on Public Information and Media excludes this possibility.
In the Registry of Candidates for Committee Members maintained by the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (MIT), Slavoljub Ristić is recorded as a representative of the Professional Association of Journalists of Serbia (PROUNS) and has the maximum score of 100 points.
According to data from the UNS, Ristić has been appointed to committees for project evaluation in Dimitrovgrad, Svrljig, Pirot, Trstenik, and Čajetina.
All of these committees were formed after Ristić became a public official. The City of Pirot and the Municipality of Trstenik have since issued a Decision on the allocation of funds.
Ristić: Where does it say that I cannot be the president of the Management Board and a member of committees at the same time?
Today, UNS invited Ristić to ask whether he informed the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (MIT), as well as the local governments where he was nominated or elected as a member, about the fact that he has become a public official, and whether he requested his removal from the Registry of Candidates for Committee Members maintained by MIT.
Ristić initially told UNS that he was proposed for the Management Board by the Ministry of Culture and asked how that relates to MIT. He stated that "the position of president of the Management Board is performed without compensation" and again asked UNS "where in the Law it states that he cannot be a member of the Management Board of the Republic Institution Film News."
In response to UNS's assertion that he is registered in the Public Officials Registry, and that the ZJIM explicitly states that public officials cannot be members of committees, Ristić said, "that's how you interpret it," and requested that questions be sent to him via email, promising that his lawyer would respond to UNS.
As a reminder, UNS previously reported that Professor Biljana Ratković Njegovan, president of the Journalists' Association of Vojvodina, was registered in the Public Officials Registry of the Anti-Corruption Agency on February 19, and that despite this, she continues to be listed in the registry of candidates for committee members evaluating media projects and participates in their work.
What the Law and Regulations Say The Law on Public Information and Media (ZJIM) and the Regulation on Co-Financing Projects for Achieving Public Interest in the Field of Public Information stipulate that holding a public office is incompatible with participation in committee work. Article 25 of ZJIM states that "committee members are appointed by the head of the authority that announced the competition, from among theorists, analysts, and practitioners in the media field who apply independently, or who are nominated by journalistic and media associations, and who are not in a conflict of interest, meaning they do not hold a public office, in accordance with the regulations governing conflicts of interest in public office." The same is stipulated in Article 19 of the Regulation. Source: UNS |
