HDZ whip Branko Bacic said on Tuesday, after a meeting of the ruling coalition and speaking about the second anniversary of the Zagreb earthquake, that it was clear the coalition was not satisfied with the pace of reconstruction and expected Construction Minister Ivan Paladina to step it up.

“You are aware of the ruling majority and government’s position – the change at the helm of the competent ministry itself was made so that the minister, who also chairs the body coordinating the reconstruction process, could step up all activities to make the reconstruction process proceed in line with expectations, notably of people affected by it,” Bacic told reporters.

It is necessary to step up the process of reconstruction of public infrastructure so that the eight billion kuna made available to Croatia from the EU Solidarity Fund to deal with the consequences of the earthquakes in Petrinja and Zagreb could truly be used by the middle of next year, said Bacic.

Asked if someone should apologise for inefficiency, in the context of the second anniversary of the Zagreb earthquake, Bacic said that the government expected the reconstruction process to be stepped up.

“It is clear that we are not happy with the pace of reconstruction and we expect the minister and his team and all heads of operational bodies to step it up.”

Zagreb allocated HRK 2.1 bn out of 5.1 bn

Bacic recalled that in his earlier statements about the reconstruction process he had called on heads of operational bodies to expedite, as users of money from the Solidarity Fund, the process of reconstruction of public infrastructure.

In that context, the HDZ official singled out the City of Zagreb as one of the biggest users of those funds, noting that so far Zagreb had allocated HRK 2.1 billion of the 5.1 billion in the Solidarity Fund intended for reconstruction in Zagreb.

He also stressed the importance of the Reconstruction Fund, in charge of the reconstruction of private houses in Zagreb, saying that it should make the process of post-earthquake reconstruction quicker after a huge number of decisions were adopted concerning owners of destroyed and damaged buildings.

Speaking of the Petrinja earthquake, Bacic said that the situation in that area was better.

“We are not fully satisfied, reconstruction needs to be faster there as well, but public procurement for the reconstruction of buildings is conducted on a weekly basis.”