The Left Bloc in the Zagreb City Assembly on Monday described the 2021 Zagreb City budget as a goldmine for private concessionaires and that the budget would be filled by selling-off "Zagreb's silver."

Councillor Rada Boric (New Left) said that the proposed budget for what would likely be a crisis year next year is HRK 2 billion higher at HRK 13.65 billion than the budget for the present crisis year.

Considering that the City administration intends to cover part of that money with the sale of City-owned property, Boric said that that was selling off the little of the city’s silver that was left to obtain an extra billion kuna.

She added that another HRK 54 million was planned from the sale of apartments. “We are yet to see which apartments, considering that after the earthquake the City could barely find 20 apartments as urgent accommodation for citizens” affected by the earthquake, she added.

She expressed concern that only HRK 80 million of the foreseen HRK 15 billion would be allocated for earthquake reconstruction. By comparison, the mayor has allocated HRK 90 for outsourcing services for City departments.

Budget “like a crime novel”

“The 2021 city budget is a gold mine for private concessionaires, they do not recognise the winter, crisis or earthquake that occurred, everything looks very good to them,” the bloc’s leader Tomislav Tomasevic said.

He noted that a private company that maintains public lighting in Zagreb will receive HRK 45 million next year. which is an increase of 50%, considering that in 2018 the same company earned HRK 32 million.

The bloc accused Mayor Milan Bandic of deliberately including at the last minute 12 items on the agenda of tomorrow’s Assembly meeting for fast-track consideration to reduce the discussion to a minimum.

One of the items refers to a third annex to the wastewater purification agreement with the same concessionaire even though a state audit found that the agreement was damaging because it ensured an annual profit of 40% for the private concessionaire.

A guarantee for a HRK 400 million loan to upgrade the drainage network was also put on fast track, which was why Zagreb Holding issued bonds which in the end were not used for that project but were instead used for real estate and acquisitions which are now being sold for next to nothing, claimed Tomasevic.

Commenting on a report Mayor Bandic was expected to present to the Assembly on Tuesday regarding the Sljeme cableway system, Tomasevic claimed that the necessary documents that were supposed to be included in the report were still lacking.