President Milanović at Presentation of Long-term Banija Development Vision: Reconstruction is slow, some problems could already have been solved
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended the presentation of the document Long-term Banija Development Vision, which was organized in the town of Glina by the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia.
In his introductory address to the representatives of regional and local self-government units from Sisak-Moslavina County, representatives of economic entities, non-governmental organizations and representatives of higher education institutions from the county, President Milanović explained that this document was under preparation for months. “I am pleased that I can bring together in this way people who care and who are ready to set aside their own time to really do something,” said President Milanović.
The document Long-term Banija Development Vision was prepared by a Working Group composed of members of the Economic Council of the President of the Republic of Croatia and external experts in the fields of economics, sociology, anthropology and urban planning. The document was drafted by Research Associate at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb Branko Ančić, Certified Architect-Urbanist and Chair of the Committee for Urbanism of the Croatian Chamber of Architects Nikša Božić, Professor at the University of Rijeka Faculty of Economics and Business and member of the President’s Economic Council Saša Drezgić, Adviser at Horwath and Horwath Consulting Zagreb d.o.o. Matko Marohnić, social science researcher, lecturer at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management (ZŠEM) and member of the President’s Economic Council Igor Matutinović, Research Associate at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb Lana Peternel, Meritorious Researcher at the Institute of Economics in Zagreb in the field of regional, environmental and eco-economy, strategic planning and island development Nenad Starc, researcher, consultant and entrepreneur, director of the consulting firm Euro ekspertiza j.d.o.o. Marijana Sumpor, Partner and Global Director in tourism consulting at Horwath and Horwath Consulting Zagreb d.o.o. Siniša Topalović and Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy and Assistant Professor at the Department of Economic Theory at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business Velibor Mačkić.
In a statement to the press after the presentation of the Long-term Banija Development Vision, President Milanović thanked all those who contributed to the preparation of the document and those who participated in the discussion: “Some of the leading entrepreneurs and businesspeople from this area and people who have small businesses, family farms, members of the academia, representatives of the local and county governments are here.”
The President pointed out that the situation in Banija was more difficult than anywhere else in Croatia. “It was like that before the earthquake. There are a million problems, some have not been solved after the earthquake and they could already have been solved. Reconstruction is slow,” said the President, in reference to residential buildings. “It is not possible for Banija to become Styria or Carinthia, but it is possible for it to follow the path taken by Lika, where, regardless of the lack of population and the lack of workers, some things are happening. It’s dead here and we want it to be lively. It’s not a problem for me to sit and listen all day to land workers who struggle or to those who employ two or four hundred people, and both were here today,” said President Milanović.
The President emphasized that this document is not executive in nature and that it is meant to send a public message. “That is what I can and will work on, not with big and pretentious plans to change the whole of Croatia, but rather through things like this,” said the Croatian President.
Special Adviser to the President for the Economy and Chair of the Economic Council of the President of the Republic Velibor Mačkić explained that this is a document that was prepared by an interdisciplinary working group: “It proposed a document that contains twenty-three projects divided into four areas: green economy, community renewal, infrastructure and connectivity, and administration and security.” He added that their idea was to consolidate traditional production in an innovative and creative way and to present Banija as a green space of opportunities.
The following individuals attended the presentation of the Long-term Banija Development Vision: Deputy Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Mihael Jurić; Mayor of Glina Ivan Janković; Mayor of Sisak Kristina Ikić Baniček; Deputy Mayor of Sisak and Head of the Civil Protection Directorate of Sisak Marko Krička; Director of the Sisak Red Cross Society Igor Čičak; Deputy Mayor of Petrinja Ivan Prskalo; Deputy Mayor of Hrvatska Kostajnica Duško Grbić; Dean of the Faculty of Metallurgy in Sisak Zdenka Zovko Brodarac; Director of the company HiPP Croatia Ltd. Darko Baljak; Director of the company Gavrilović Ltd. Georg Gavrilović; Board Member of the company BADEL 1862 JSC Domagoj Jelenc; Director of the company Drvni centar Glina Ltd. Elmor Baraković; Representative of the IKS Association from Petrinja Tamara Jovičić; Representatives of local family-owned farms Đuro Mraković and Elizabeza Pezo Paliska; Representative of the Ljudi za Ljude [People for People] Association Maja Sever; Representative of the LAG Zrinska Gora – Turopolje Association Maja Štimec; Representative of the Independent Volunteers Initiative Martina Pavičić Blažun.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek