TOWN COUNCIL WRITES OFF SISAK IRONWORKS DEBT

SISAK, March 13 (Hina) - The Town Council of Sisak (some 50 kilometres south-east of Zagreb) on Tuesday unanimously wrote off a 20-million-kuna debt for utilities the Sisak Ironworks owed to the town, thus supporting a programme of the company's isolation and privatisation, drawn up by its management and adopted by the Economy Ministry and supported by the World Bank. The decision, it was said, will be implemented once the government decides about the financial rehabilitation based on the company's programme of isolation and privatisation. Mayor Dinko Pintaric called on other creditors, including the Finance Ministry, Croatian Privatisation Fund, Croatian Oil Industry and the Croatian Power Industry to write off their claims toward the Ironworks and enable the company to recover. Councillors from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and their chairwoman Jelena Stepic proposed that the Council suggest to the government to discuss at its next session confidence in Vice- Premier Slavko Linic, in charge of economy, and relieve him of duties as Vice-Premier because he failed to carry out a programme of the company's financial reorganisation. Sixteen councillors voted for the proposal, eight were against and one abstained. (hina) rml