MR. STANKOVIC: MOVING OUT OF MEDVEDJA TO BE PREVENTED

29. January 2015.

Yesterday, Zoran Stankovic, the President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, held first talks with the new leadership of the municipality of Medvedja, which was recently elected following the sudden death of a longtime Mayor of Medvedja Slobodan Draskovic.

On that occasion, Zoran Stankovic, the President of the Coordination Body, said that moving out of the area of Medvedja should be prevented.

Upon meeting with the leaders of the municipality, he said that increasingly more people were moving out of the territory of Medvedja due to the bad economic situation and that it was, therefore, necessary to resume production at the “Lece” mine as soon as possible, as well as to open new production units.

Around 350 miners of the "Lece" mine, which operates within the "Farmakom" company, has been on strike over the unpaid wages and contributions for a week.

“We firstly need to prevent further moving out of these areas, and then to provide conditions for the return of those that have already moved out. This means that we urgently need to find solutions for the economic problems and the creation of new jobs, so that people would stay here, and then to help with the return of those who have already left by means of increased investments”, Mr. Stankovic said.

Dragisa Petrovic, the Mayor of Medvedja, said again that the situation in Medvedja, over the previous month, was such that there were almost no people employed in production.

“The largest problem for us is the “Lece” mine, which isn’t operating and where over 350 miners are on strike. Then the pellet plant, which employs 50 workers, is in a stalemate, so that all production activities in Medvedja stopped. Another problem is that there is no road in the tunnel that needs to be provided with lighting and that is why we sought the assistance of the Coordination Body and the ministries of the Government of the Republic of Serbia,"said Dragisa Petrovic, the Mayor of Medvedja.

The President of the Coordination Body promised that he would inform members of the Government of the Republic of Serbia with the situation in the “Lece” mine, so that a solution to the problem could be found and production launched.

According to unofficial data, around 4,000 inhabitants moved out of the area of Medvedja over the past ten years. Mr. Stankovic believes that it is, therefore, necessary to carry out a valid census of the population in the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, so that “bidding” with figures would be avoided.

“At this point, it is important for us to have the exact data on the number of residents in this area for several reasons. This is necessary for investments of the state and because of the way in which education, health care, pension payments and many other activities that mean life for people who live in this region will be made possible. When someone realizes this, he/she will understand why it is necessary to have the accurate population data," said Mr. Stankovic.

Apart from the new Mayor Dragisa Pertrovića, the meeting at the municipal building was attended by the Deputy Mayor Fljorim Sahiti and the President of the Municipal Assembly of Medvedja Goran Ivanovic.

Source: “Tanjug” News Agency, Serbian Broadcasting Corporation and Coordination Body