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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Projects for development of flooded municipalities in Banat and southern Serbia presented

Belgrade, 13 March 2006

A donor's meeting was held today in the Serbian parliament, at which 17 projects worth €1.6 million were presented. These projects are aimed at boosting economic development in the nine municipalities of Banat and southern Serbia which were hit by flooding in April last year.

Author: Tanjug

The projects proposed are intended for the municipalities of Secanj, Leskovac, Krusevac, Plandiste, Prokuplje, Zitoradja, Blace, Zitiste, and Bela Crkva.

The donor's conference, organised by the Serbian parliament's Committee for Poverty Reduction, the Deputy Prime Minister's Team for implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Serbian Ministry for International Economic Relations, was attended by parliament speaker Predrag Markovic and Chairwoman of the Committee for Poverty Reduction Snezana Stojanovic-Plavsic.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus reminded the public that in less than one year, the Serbian government set aside €13 million for quick repair of houses, roads, farms and flood protection systems in the affected areas.

He said that although life in these areas has returned to normal, poverty, whose main cause is unemployment, has remained and that is why projects that will boost economic development are necessary.

Labus explained that these projects are mostly smaller ones from the field of agriculture in which the government will contribute from 30% to 60%, but he pointed out that their realisation calls for financial assistance from foreign donors.

Serbian Minister of International Economic Relations Milan Parivodic said that the government is primarily interested in satisfying the immediate needs of the population, while this conference represents the second step that will allow healthy and sustainable economic growth in these undeveloped areas.

Chairwoman of the Serbian parliament’s Committee on Poverty Reduction Snezana Stojanovic-Plavsic said that the aim of today’s conference is the realisation of 17 projects in 9 municipalities affected by floods, so that they could reduce unemployment and poverty by developing their own capacities.

She added that projects for the municipalities mentioned have been prepared with the support of local self-governments, the Serbian government, non-governmental and international organisations, and also that seven projects were proposed by citizens associations.

Presenting the projects, Stojanovic-Plavsic said that most of them concern cattle-breeding and agriculture, and added that with their realisation, depending on each concrete case, several to more than a dozen families will find employment.

Head of the UN Mission to Serbia-Montenegro Lance Clark offered technical support and expertise in the realisation of these projects, which should contribute to the development of these local communities.