MR. STANKOVIC AND MR. VOLLEBAEK ON THE NEW BUILDING OF THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS IN BUJANOVAC

President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, Zoran Stankovic, said that the construction of the building of the Faculty of Economics’ Department in Bujanovac would begin this March and that it should be completed by this October.  

"The Coordination Body earmarked 16 million dinars for the project, while the EU PROGRESS provided another 20 million dinars," said Mr. Stankovic.  

President of the Coordination Body, along with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebaek, Mayor of Bujanovac, Nagip Arifi, and Dean of the Faculty of Economics in Subotica, Nenad Vunjak, visited the site on which the faculty’s building would begin constructed.  

“A tender for a detailed design of the Subotica-based Faculty of Economics’ Department’s building will be put out. The construction of a 1,480 square meters large building, which will house the faculty’s students, ought to start in March, "said Mr. Stankovic.

“The project gives hope to the region and it is a true example of what cooperation between the local institutions and central government should be like, "said Mr. Vollebaek. He also voiced hope that this would be a model for solving other problems, too. Paula Thiede, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, who also visited the site planned for the new building of the Subotica-based Faculty of Economics’ Department, agreed with the statement made by Mr. Vollebaek.  

Mr. Vollebaek said that October would come soon but that he believed that the building would be completed in due time, because he had, until then, been ensured that joint activities of the local and central authorities made miracles in Bujanovac possible.  

Mayor of Bujanovac, Nagip Arifi, said that he hoped that everything would go according to plan, as it had been anticipated, and that the new faculty’s building would be completed by the beginning of the 2013/2014 school year. He pointed out that his ambition was to have not only one but several faculties constructed on that spot. Mr. Arifi was confident that the funds for the project would be provided and that all would be completed in accordance with the plan.

Dean of the Faculty of Economics in Subotica, Nenad Vunjak, believed that it was necessary to provide adequate space for the faculty’s department in Bujanovac, because the third generation of students would enroll in the fall. Mr. Vunjak highlighted the importance of the project, adding that classes were currently held on two locations.

The visit to the site was preceded by a series of meetings that were held between President of the Coordination Body and Presevo and Bujanovac leaders, as well as by a meeting held with President of the Albanian National Council.  

“The Serbian Government and the Coordination Body didn’t get from the local authorities an official request in connection with the monument that had been removed from Presevo, "Mr. Stankovic said after the meeting held with Mayor of Presevo, Ragmi Mustafa. He explained that if such a request came through regular channels, the government would respond to it in accordance with the law.  

President of the Coordination Body also said that the local authorities in Presevo didn’t demand return of the monument, as well as that their only requirement, which he had received from the Albanian political leaders from Presevo in a written form,  was for an 18 - acre industrial zone in the city, for which it was necessary to earmark 1,8 million euros.

“I talked with the mayor of Presevo about completion of the maternity ward, too, as well as about the opening of border crossings with Macedonia, which are located in the villages of Miratovac and Strezovce, so that people who cultivate the land located in the territory of Serbia or Macedonia could continue going to their fields, "said Mr. Stankovic.

“At a meeting held with the Mayor of Bujanovac, Nagip Arifi, the municipality’s problems, such as large debts and the blocked account of the “Komunalac” public company, were discussed" Mr. Stankovic said. He pointed out that he had also met with Galip Beqiri, President of the Albanian National Council, with whom the resolving of the issue of textbooks in Albanian was talked about.   

The working visit to Presevo and Bujanovac ended with a meeting with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebaek, during which, among other things, the issue of national symbols of the Albanian minority was discussed.