ZAGREB, Sept 11 (Hina) - Most deputies in the Croatian parliament on Thursday endorsed amendments to the Law on the Funding of Local Self-Government, but pointed to poor organisation and coordination in firefighting and the lack of a
fire prevention system.
ZAGREB, Sept 11 (Hina) - Most deputies in the Croatian parliament on
Thursday endorsed amendments to the Law on the Funding of Local
Self-Government, but pointed to poor organisation and coordination
in firefighting and the lack of a fire prevention system. #L#
Under the amendments, funding for wages and material expenses of
public firefighting units would once again come from the government
budget.
Deputies of the opposition Croatian Democratic Union, Social
Liberals, and the Party of Rights/Christian Democrats slammed the
amendments, saying they were the result of this summer's disastrous
fires and the public's sensitivity to firemen's problems.
The amendments change nothing in practice in terms of equipment and
the chaos within the firefighting system, they said.
Deputies of the ruling coalition defended the government and the
amendments. They conceded there had been certain omissions with
regard to organisation, but stressed the government had taken a
series of steps before the summer to prevent fires.
Libra's Jozo Rados urged the government to instruct competent
bodies to draw up a new, integral firefighting system by next
spring.
The latest amendments quash a decision adopted last year under
which public firefighting units were to be funded from municipal,
town, and county budgets instead of the government budget. This,
however, proved problematic on the ground because some towns and
municipalities were unable to pay firemen.
(hina) ha