SDP AND HSLS TO CARRY OUT AUDIT OF PRIVATISATION

ZAGREB, Dec 15 (Hina) - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) are determined to, should they come to power, carry out the audit of the ownership transformation and privatisation, but they would not organise a "witch hunt". Goran Granic (HSLS) told reporters Wednesday that the future government would "only release the brakes from the blocked mechanisms" in normal court proceedings against those who had not fulfilled their obligations. "We will not carry out campaigns of witch hunts," Granic said during a presentation of the two parties' coalition economy programme. "Do not expect persecution in the auditing of the transformation of ownership. This is not SDP's or HSLS's programme," Mato Crkvenac (SDP) said, announcing a number of measures to systematically tackle corruption. He said they would by legal means "sever where the collusion of politicians, politics, corruption and other led towards private enriching". The SDP and HSLS programme is based on development and employment, social security and justice, economic stability, European orientation, and joining the first group of countries accessing the European Union, and a fair authority which would be controlled by the public. The two parties intend to stop further decrease of production and increase of unemployment and to ensure economic stability in the country. The coalition is convinced that the effect of its economy policy in the next four years would be extremely positive and that the life standard of the public would rise. Parties would try to decrease unemployment by relieving employees of income taxes for new job openings in the first 12 months. Should the SDP and HSLS win at the upcoming elections, the budget for next year would amount to between 40 and 42 million kuna (between US$5.33 and 5.6 million), 17 per cent less than this year's. The parties' leaders announced the lessening of the Value Added Tax from the current 22 per cent to 17 per cent and an extension of the zero tax tariff to some other food products. They announced the decrease for next year, but stressed that it would be unrealistic to expect that this could occur within the first four months. They hold, however, that moves made by the new government would greatly be determined by the situation it finds, and that it would need at least 100 days to bet fully acquainted with the situation. The SDP and HSLS hold as harmful and unproductive the current rehabilitation of companies. They advocate bankruptcy proceedings through which companies would be freed from paying the debts of creditors for a year in order that they can be restructured, before which workers would be taken care of. The coalition pledged they would pay back money to the clients of bankrupt banks, as well as that the state would guarantee citizen investments, notwithstanding their amounts. The coalition leaders believe that Croatia would, by the end of next year, be equally in debt as at the beginning of the year, but under more favourable conditions. They hold that should the Opposition win at the elections, Croatia's credit rating at the international financial market would rise. (hina) lml mm