VUKOVAR, June 14 (Hina) - Croatian returnees believe the government is slowly forgetting eastern Slavonia and Croatia's Danube River Region after an initial bout of enthusiasm for reintegration. The number of embittered returnees is
on the increase as a result of a stalled and poorly implemented reconstruction and the jeopardised rights of returnees and displaced persons. Unless something changes, they could soon go back into exile, numerous returnees' representatives in Osijek-Baranja County and Vukovar-Srijem County told reporters in Vukovar on Monday. According to Ljudevit Erceg, head of the Reconstruction Administration department at the Ministry of Reconstruction, Development, and Immigration, 85 percent of 6,670 houses in reconstruction in the said two counties has been completed. The rest has not been reconstructed yet due to the slow inflow of funds and the reconstructio
VUKOVAR, June 14 (Hina) - Croatian returnees believe the government
is slowly forgetting eastern Slavonia and Croatia's Danube River
Region after an initial bout of enthusiasm for reintegration.
The number of embittered returnees is on the increase as a result of
a stalled and poorly implemented reconstruction and the
jeopardised rights of returnees and displaced persons.
Unless something changes, they could soon go back into exile,
numerous returnees' representatives in Osijek-Baranja County and
Vukovar-Srijem County told reporters in Vukovar on Monday.
According to Ljudevit Erceg, head of the Reconstruction
Administration department at the Ministry of Reconstruction,
Development, and Immigration, 85 percent of 6,670 houses in
reconstruction in the said two counties has been completed.
The rest has not been reconstructed yet due to the slow inflow of
funds and the reconstruction of 450 houses belonging to Croatian
Homeland War veterans, Erceg said.
He added the reconstruction ministry was satisfied with the 12,500
houses reconstructed in the course of 1998.
Speaking about plans for this year, Erceg reminded that the
ministry this spring promised the beginning of reconstruction in
June of 800 houses in Vukovar-Srijem County, half in Vukovar, half
in the rest of the county, and 500 in Osijek-Baranja County.
Until a recent government decision on the revision of this year's
state budget, some 2,000 houses were to undergo reconstruction in
September in Vukovar-Srijem County and up to 1,000 in Osijek-
Baranja County, Erceg said. This is now uncertain, he added,
because parliament has still not decided whether it will okay the
budget revision according to which the reconstruction ministry
would lose US$55.5 million.
We have US$222.2 million at our disposal in shares we have still not
been allocated, Erceg said. If we get quality shares, we will find
contractors for the reconstruction of houses even without cash, he
added, pointing out the reconstruction ministry had paid all
contractors for last year and the first two months of 1999.
(hina) ha jn