Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic

BELGRADE, September 14 - Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic announced that a new managing board of Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) will be appointed in a month, and that there are still no grounds for abolishing the decree freezing salaries in public companies.

After a meeting between Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and government representatives on one side and the NIS Trade Union board on the other, Minister Djelic promised that the Serbian government would do its utmost to see through the appointment of a new managing board at NIS within a month's time.

All NIS branches are presently managed by acting directors. According to Djelic, the company can't go on any longer without a managing board and branch directors at the helm.

The fight against embezzlement goes on

The meeting in the government was also joined by representatives of the Interior Ministry. Head of the Public Security Service Sreten Lukic said that NIS trade union representatives were made aware that charges had been pressed against six former managers of NIS, suspected of embezzlement. Former NIS general manager Milan Djakovic, president of the NIS managing board Zivko Soklovacki and manager of "NIS Jugopetrol" Dragan Tomic are among the suspects. Lukic added that the promotion of increased security at filling stations was also discussed. NIS should invest in new equipment, including closed circuit cameras connected to the police.

"A rise in salaries in public companies, including NIS and EPS (Electric Power Industry of Serbia), will only be possible after business plans outlining cost-cutting measures, increased productivity and greater efficiency are adopted," Djelic said, commenting on the NIS trade union's demand for retraction of the decree on salaries.

According to Djelic, salary funds cannot be increased just because business operations have improved following the adoption of a decree on NIS's monopoly on oil import. The same goes for EPS, which cannot expect a pay rise just because of the expected spike in electricity prices.

"Without a strong companies like NIS our economy will not be able to develop successfully," Djelic stated.

He also pointed out that circumstances are not the same anymore after the tragedy in the US and that the world economy has entered a new stage.

"Governments of all countries and large corporations are coming to grips with the consequences of the attack," Djelic said, adding that the government is closely following fluctuations in the world market price of oil and that it will make efforts to protect the domestic market in the event of further rise in prices.

Assistant Energy Minister Vojislav Krstic announced that only a rise in the prices of the new products by Pancevo oil factory "Super 98 oktana" and "Eco diesel" is planned at the moment, and that the these prices will be set in a few days.