Governor of Pcinj District Warns of the Worsening Situation in the Economy of South Serbia

15. November 2012.

Source: Danas daily / Vranje – Budimir Mihajlovic, Governor of the Pcinj District, said at the "Open Day for the Media," event that South Serbia’s municipalities needed urgent help from the state, since the economy was in a rather bad state.

“This is the time for the state to do something, as the state of the economy has never been worse. My impression is that the resources of local communities are squandered on some useless things, instead of being used for creation of new jobs, "Mr. Mihajlovic said.

He said that the local self-governments should take some activities and launch production, which is on the verge of collapse. The Governor also believes that the general economic outlook in the district is bleak, that the state of the economy in South Serbia is disastrous, with the unemployment rate of 35 percent, while the earnings are up to twenty percent lesser than the national average.

“We, together with the government, expect to solve the accumulated problems, since only with new investments, such as the "Geox" company, which will open a shoe factory in Vranje and employ 1,250 workers, is it possible to change the economy for the better. However, apart from Vranje, we are required to do this in other municipalities of our district, which isn’t easy, as there is a good degree of inertia in local self-governments to change the situation, "said Mr. Mihajlovic, who was himself a longtime businessman and one of the directors of “Simpo” company.