VUKOVAR MAYOR ON DELAYS IN RECONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES

VUKOVAR, Aug 18 (Hina) - The mayor of eastern-most Croatian town Vukovar, which suffered enormous damage during the Serbian aggression on Croatia earlier this decade, on Wednesday spoke to reporters about the complex situation in the town, with special emphasis on delays in the reconstruction of houses. The Reconstruction and Development Ministry recently promised the reconstruction of family houses would commence soon, Mayor Vladimir Stengl said, but pointed out the number of houses to be included in the works remained uncertain. Stengl pointed out that this year, only 650 houses have been completed or are nearing completion out of the 1,000 planned last year. The rest, he believes, will most probably take three, instead of one construction season. Another major problem is the reconstruction of flats. To date, some 1,500 have been reconstructed, but the biggest issue remain temporary occupancies of reconstructed flats. Due to the lack of a provision regulating the deadline by which a request to retrieve tenancy rights should be submitted, it frequently happens that, when town authorities grant someone the right to temporarily use a flat and this person invests money for decoration, the tenancy rights holder appears demanding his reconstructed pre-war flat back. Stengl pointed out Vukovar's authorities were eagerly expecting the passing of a decree on flat renting which should avoid such and similar problems. According to Kresimir Slafhauzer, head of administration for local economy and town development, 350 Serbs from Vukovar have put their houses for sale with the Agency for Legal Transactions and Real Estate Management. The state has not purchased them yet due to lack of funds. (hina) ha