The senior card has only been issued in Podgorica and Budva. The Food Bank Foundation warns that senior citizens are in a very difficult situation. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography responds that the establishment of a state card is not within their jurisdiction, and that such a service is a local measure.
In Montenegro, there is no single pension card issued by the central government, but such initiatives are left to local governments or the private sector. Budva is the first municipality in Montenegro to introduce this project, and such a practice is also applied in Podgorica.
The card should be introduced at the state level and in every municipality, and that people over 65 cannot be viewed in two ways, says Sadik Klimenta, a member of the Pensioners' Movement of Montenegro.
"The pensioners' movement will support such an initiative and on this occasion we appeal to the competent ministry to, both now and in the future, take a unified position when making decisions and adopting proposals concerning this population," said Klimenta.
The pensioners' movement previously appealed to the Ministry of Social Welfare to introduce social cards for this population, as well as to provide one-time assistance to the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, they were not receptive to such an initiative, concludes Klimenta.
The president of the Food Bank Foundation, Marina Medojević, warns that the oldest people are facing difficult challenges.
"We have miserable pension increases that really affect the dignity of the already difficult lives of people who are at an age when they can no longer earn a living, and we also have various technical obstacles to being able to work at all, so there is a great stratification among people of that age," Medojević pointed out.
Good practices of local governments must be applied in all municipalities, adds Medojević.
"What we could do as a responsible state for the oldest citizens of Montenegro is a comprehensive social support policy that would have to be multi-sectoral, so that we would have at least a minimum of dignity below which no citizen of Montenegro should live," says Medojević.
The Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography responded to our question that the introduction of the state card is not within their jurisdiction.
"Within our jurisdiction, we are currently not implementing a program to establish a state senior card for pensioners and people over 65. The senior card implemented in Podgorica is a local measure that, through cooperation with business entities, provides certain benefits for senior citizens in the territory of that city."
As a reminder, pensioners have previously held protests in a number of municipalities, and the reason was the latest pension increase of 1.72 euros.
