INTRODUCTION OF INTERIM MEASURES IN MEDVEDJA

15. April 2015.

Medvedja – The twenty-fifth session of the Municipal Assembly failed to be held in Medvedja even after its fifth postponement, which provided the conditions for its dissolution and the introduction of interim measures.

Goran Ivanovic, the President of the Municipal Assembly in Medvedja, said that out of the 35 members of the Municipal Assembly, only fifteen of them attended the meeting.

“The session was boycotted by four councilors from the Group of Citizens “For Upper Jablanica - Slobodan Draskovic” and by three councilors from the Party for Democratic Action (PDA), as well as by councilors from the opposition”, said Mr. Ivanovic, who is from Group of Citizens “For Upper Jablanica - Slobodan Draskovic”.

“The goal of all of them, as well as of the opposition councilors, was the introduction of interim measures in the municipality of Medvedja”, said Mr. Ivanovic.

“I think that the introduction of interim measures will stop the investments that have already been made. We had a lot of important decisions regarding the functioning of the municipality, while the blame for its lack of functioning will be borne by those who didn’t want to come to the sessions. We'll all go to the next polls, the people will assess the worth of various parties, how many votes those parties will get and who will form the local self-government”, said Mr. Ivanovic.

Dragisa Petrovic, the Mayor Medvedja, said that the only goal of the opposition in Medvedja was the introduction of interim measures.

“I think that this is quite bad for the citizens, because all the investments will now be called into question and many projects will be cancelled, Mr. Petrovic said, adding that the completion of infrastructure projects related to the road network in the territory of the municipality would be called into question as well.

“The road network includes about 330 kilometers of roads and it involves the construction of water-supply systems and the paving of village roads. About 80% of funds allocated for these projects will go down the drain. So far, around fifty million dinars have been earmarked for the construction of local roads, while 20 million dinars out of the aforementioned sum can’t be used now, because the Municipal Assembly, due to lack of forum, didn’t reach a decision on the issue”, Mr. Petrovic said

Mr. Petrovic said that "the only bright spot" was that the “Lece” mine was to sign the agreement on its re-activation, which meant better days for 300 to 350 employees of the mine.

The most recent session of the Municipal Assembly of Medvedja was held on January 14, 2015, when, in the presence of representatives of the OSCE, Goran Ivanovic was elected the President of the Municipal Assembly, while Dragisa Petrovic was elected the Mayor. They are both from the Group of Citizens “For Upper Jablanica - Slobodan Draskovic”.

Interim measures may last up to 60 days, whereas the deadline for local elections, upon the expiration of that time, is from 45 to 60 days.

Source: “Beta” news agency, South News, Jugmedia and Coordination Body