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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Slow privatisation causes Pavlovic’s dismissal

Belgrade, 17 July 2004

Coordinator in the Ministry of Economy and Minister of International Economic Relations Predrag Bubalo said today that reason for replacement of Privatisation Agency Director Branko Pavlovic is the Agency’s low output since the beginning of the year, standing at 4 percent of the planned revenues.

Predrag Bubalo

He told the Tanjug news agency that privatisation process was stopped as the former director was engaged only in controlling the previous privatisations. Bubalo said that it is necessary to control the privatisation process, but it is even more important to conduct the privatisation. The Agency, however, did not give expected results, he said.

Bubalo said that Pavlovic was not pressured by any government minister. Following Pavlovic’s statement regarding illegal privatisation of Sartid, Bubalo said that the Administration for the Fight Against Organised Crime worked day and night and that there is a lot of material, so everything now depends on the prosecutor’s office.

According to him, US Steel will retain the government’s support and will keep working successfully, whereas those who conducted the bankruptcy procedure illegally will have to be pursued.

Bubalo denied statements that Pavlovic was dismissed in order to privatise public enterprises, adding that NIS oil company and EPS power utility will first have to be restructured, and then privatised in a few years’ time.

He said that these public companies are of strategic importance for the state and that this government would not privatise them during this mandate.