President Milanović in Primošten: Croatia Deserves European Money
“Most of the population will soon be older, it’s a fact, and he who looks to the future undertakes such projects and makes them happen. The Home for the elderly and disabled persons is called an undertaking”, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović said today in Primošten at the opening of a new Home for the elderly and disabled persons in Bratski Dolac.
Since the Home for the elderly and disabled persons is located in a building of the former elementary school in Bratski Dolac that for long hasn’t been used for school needs, President Milanović warned that schools in Croatia have been empty for years and most of them are deteriorating. “You didn’t allow this and you intended it for something that is right, good and noble today. We can despair as much as we want and constantly remind ourselves that there aren’t as many children as there used to be. There aren’t that many and they won’t appear overnight, we have to come to terms with it, not complain but take action”, he noted.
President Milanović said that it’s a respectable fact that the construction and equipping of the Home was funded by the Municipality from its own resources, but added that he regrets that they didn’t use money from the European funds. “It’s regrettable that you didn’t use European money while it’s available because that’s what it’s for. Those euros are deserved in spite of the fact that they come from the richest European Union states. We didn’t enter into this agreement empty-handed, we agreed to many benefits that we are giving them: opening up the country, a free market, an attack on Croatian industry, which very frequently could not withstand the competitive pressure of Western goods. “All of this is the price that Croatia has paid. That’s why we shouldn’t be particularly grateful for European funds, we should take them,” said President Milanović.
After the opening ceremony, President Milanović, accompanied by his host the Head of the Municipality of Primošten Stipe Petrina and the Director of the Home for the elderly and disabled persons Nikolina Mimica, toured the premises of the Home that has a capacity to accommodate fifty-one residents. During the tour, it was said that the building in which the Home is located consists of a reconstructed ground floor and first floor and an additional second floor, and that the total cost of building and equipping the Home is 2.7 million euros.
In addition to high-quality accommodation, the Home’s residents will have access to medical and health care services, social activities and professional support. The Home is equipped with a spacious modern kitchen in which meals will be prepared for other senior citizens who will not be residents of the Home, but will be able to come for a hot meal in the common rooms, while meals will be delivered to disabled persons in their homes.
Alongside President Milanović was the Adviser to the President for Human Rights and Civil Society Melita Mulić.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta