President Milanović Visits Earthquake-Hit Areas: Organization and will are the main hurdles to reconstruction

“If I were the Prime Minister, I would see to it that container settlements disappear as soon as possible. Containers are just a reminder of a missed opportunity. People would certainly not be thrown out on the street. Some solution would be found. As it is, two years after the earthquake, we have containers that were intended for a short time, not as a permanent solution,” the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović said in the town of Glina after touring earthquake-hit areas in Sisak-Moslavina County.

“I was there last year, it’s already the fourth time I’ve been visiting some people. It’s going slowly, poorly,” President Milanović commented on the post-earthquake reconstruction. When asked by a journalist why he thought the reconstruction was going so slowly and what the main hurdles were, the President replied “organization and will.”

“No, the minister cannot do anything. First, there is the central body – the Central State Office, which lost its director yesterday. These kinds of things should be resolved in an organized and centralized way, and two years ago this was not done. It all comes down to the main person – the prime minister,” President Milanović said when asked whether the newly appointed Minister Branko Bačić would make a difference. The President further added that he thinks the selection of the minister is of secondary importance, because the key person in the Croatian Government is the prime minister.

After touring Glina where he visited the secondary school, which is being reconstructed due to the quake damage, the downtown area and the town administration premises that are currently located in the containers, President Milanović paid a visit to the container settlements in Sisak and Petrinja, where he met with residents. In Sisak, President Milanović also visited the construction site of the new Galdovo educational complex, in Jabukovac he visited the health clinic built with private donations and in Majske Poljane he met with members of the Bjelajac family and toured their estate, which is being reconstructed with a private donation.

Accompanying President Milanović on his visit to earthquake-hit areas in Sisak-Moslavina County were Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy Velibor Mačkić and Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta