President Milanović Discusses Zagreb Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Issues with Members of SOS Zagreb Association

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović held a meeting today at the Office of the President with members of the SOS Zagreb Association, an alliance of Zagreb residents founded a year ago that seeks to accelerate and improve the quality of post-earthquake reconstruction efforts in the city of Zagreb.

Members of the SOS Zagreb Association – Vice Presidents of the Governing Board Vesna Blašković, Vedrana Likan and Igor Kordić, and members of the Supervisory Board Tomislav Bartolić, Ana Petričić Gojanović and Andrej Šooš Maceljski – discussed with President Milanović the state of reconstruction efforts in Zagreb and informed him of the obstacles and issues that citizens face in undertaking such efforts. They also warned of the impending situation in which many Zagreb hospitals, schools and preschools will not be reconstructed within the set deadline through the EU Solidarity Fund but rather by taxpayers’ money, i.e. by the citizens themselves.

The fact that there was no central body established in Croatia to direct post-earthquake reconstruction efforts was highlighted at the meeting as the key reason behind slow and inefficient reconstruction. As a result, two years after the earthquake there are only 75 buildings in Zagreb being reconstructed, the SOS Zagreb Association members said at the meeting. Although self-reconstruction is encouraged, many building owners are not creditworthy, which is a problem that requires government intervention, i.e. the faster return of invested funds to building co-owners, while reconstruction should be mandatory, the SOS Zagreb Association members said.

Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy Velibor Mačkić and Assistant Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy Martina Ciglević were alongside President Milanović.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta