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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Help for citizens afflicted by natural disasters

Belgrade, 23 March 2006

Serbian Minister of Capital Investment Velimir Ilic said that the government at its session today decided to set aside 90 million dinars as emergency aid for landslide damage relief. He recalled that additional 80 million dinars has been spent for the same purpose in the past few days.

Velimir Ilic

Speaking at a press conference following the Serbian government session, Ilic said that the village Bogdanje in the municipality of Trstenik and the village Zlatari in the municipality of Brus will receive 30 million dollars each, the Ljig municipality 10 million dinars, while the remaining 20 million dinars will be equally divided among the municipalities of Rekovac, Koceljeva, Gornji Milanovac and Osecina.

He pointed out that in March, by increasing quotas, the Ministry of Capital Investment granted 200 million dinars to the Serbian Roads Directorate for the reconstruction of roads damaged in landslides.

Estimation of the damage is still in progress and both the republic and municipal teams are in the field, the minister said. He added that every day we are witnessing more landslides and that weather conditions only aggravate the situation.

According to Ilic, the town of Mionica sustained damage in yesterday's earthquake and the Ministry of Capital Investment has set aside funds for damage relief in this municipality.

The minister recalled that yesterday, together with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, he visited landslide-affected municipalities of Ljig, Trstenik and Brus and reiterated that the construction of new housing will start on Monday.

Mladjan Dinkic

Serbian Minister of Finance Mladjan Dinkic said that the government also decided on the formation of a Coordinating Body for directing activities in damage relief work amidst landslides on the territories of municipalities Trstenik and Brus.

He said that this body comprises six ministers led by Minister of Capital Investment Velimir Ilic. He recalled that in the past two weeks 370 million dinars have been granted as emergency aid for the affected areas.

Dinkic pointed out that all the budgetary funds earmarked for damage relief caused by natural disasters in 2006 have already been spent, but that special funds will be provided and all threatened citizens taken care of.

Dinkic said that at the upcoming session of the government special funds will be approved, and the Ministry of Finance will examine the possibility of acquiring one more loan from the Council of Europe Development Bank.

He recalled that last year a soft loan was obtained from the bank for repairing damage caused by floods in Banat.

He also said that the government accepted today the Draft Contract according to which the recapitalisation of Komercijalna Banka by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will take place. Komercijalna Banka is one of the largest domestic banks.

He explained that the EBRD will pay €70 million for 25% of capital of Komercijalna Banka, thus becoming minority shareholder in the bank, while the state will still be majority owner with 50.7% of capital.

Dinkic said that the EBRD will enter Komercijalna Bank with a sum that is almost three times greater than the bank’s capital. He added that negotiations lasted six months and this transaction means that there is a possibility that Serbia will get a bank which can conduct business outside the country.

According to Dinkic, after the recapitalisation of Komercijalna Banka it will have a capital of €170 million instead of the current capital of €75 million, thus becoming the biggest bank in Serbia, not only according to savings deposits but also according to the amount of the banks capital. It will also be the first bank to apply for a license in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the beginning of April.

Tomica Milosavljevic

Serbian Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic said that the Ministry of Health informed the government on the activities of the working group for the fight against bird flu during the last week, because of cases where the disease was passed on from wild birds to domestic birds and poultry, and where it was suspected that the disease had spread to humans.

Milosavljevic explained that in a precisely specified procedure four persons were put under quarantine. They tested negative for bird flu and were released.

According to the assessment of the working group, the Ministry of Health and the representatives of the World Health Organisation, measures taken in this case were timely and correct, said Milosavljevic. He added that there is no reason for panic, but caution is necessary.