Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) chief Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday that the situation regarding Sisak County Prefect Ivo Zinic 'caused harm' to the HDZ and that the only way to resolve it was for Zinic to resign.

“As I have already said, information about the property owned by Ivo Zinic is not entirely clear to me. Since last night, not much has changed regarding available information. I am not aware that Zinic was given the house in April 1995 and it is not clear to me how that could have happened. All circumstances should be investigated. Neither I nor anyone else in the HDZ have investigated anyone’s property. I do not know why the Opposition thinks that I should have known about Zinic’s property. Do you think that as Prime Minister I have time to check the assets and property of so many office-holders? I don’t, that’s not realistic,” Plenkovic said.

Later in the day, the state office for reconstruction and housing explained that information on Zinic having been given a state-owned house for use in April 1995 was wrongly cited due to illegible handwriting in the relevant document and that the exact date was 19 September 1995.

After today’s Question Hour in the parliament, Plenković also told the press that with local elections only three months away, the situation with Zinic was causing harm to the HDZ and that the only way to settle the matter would be for Zinic to resign as Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect as there was no other mechanism for the government to tackle the matter.

Asked whether he thought of this scandal as a result of a media-fuelled lynching campaign, Plenkovic said that he mentioned media hysteria in the context of media reports about the post-war reconstruction.

A TV station showed footage of one house, rebuilt after the war, and ‘hysteria ensued’ with the aim of ‘stigmatising the HDZ government from that period’ and making it seem that ‘everything that was done in the post-war reconstruction was done poorly,’ he said.

In the process of post-war reconstruction 5,888 houses were rebuilt, and only 69 of them or 1.8% have been found unfit to live in after the 29 December earthquake, he said.

Now that facts have been provided, Opposition MPs make no mention of an inquiry commission, Plenkovic said referring to Question Time in parliament on Tuesday morning.

A quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale is a strong quake and if the houses are close to the epicentre, they are unfortunately destroyed, he added, reiterating that any possible act of negligence in the post-war reconstruction must be brought to light.

Plenković says Ikic-Banicek ‘demagoguing’ issue of legislation on post-quake reconstruction

Commenting on Sisak Mayor Kristina Ikic-Banicek’s criticism of the government-sponsored amendments to the law on the post-earthquake reconstruction, Plenkovic said that she was trying to politically profit from the current situation while the state authorities and institutions were trying to help in the aftermath of the quake.

We are trying to provide maximum help to residents of Sisak. It is not unknown that the City of Sisak is more developed that the rest of Sisak-Moslavina County, perhaps the mayor is not aware of that, the PM said, dismissing as demagoguery and populism Ikic-Banicek’s criticism that the law would discriminate against residents of Sisak.

Pupovac says SDSS, coalition partners to discuss model for reconstruction of Sisak

Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) lawmaker Milorad Pupovac, who together with Serb National Council (SNV) representatives visited the quake-hit areas in Sisak County on Tuesday, met with Ikić Baniček and on that occasion he reassured her that he would talk with the coalition partners about the possibility for the City of Sisak, too, to be reconstructed with full funding from the state budget.

The mayor raised the issue, claiming that the ruling HDZ party would insist on the 60:20:20 formula whereby the state should ensure 60% of the funding for the structural reconstruction of quake-damaged properties, the local authorities 20% and property owners 20%.

“If the draft law should be amended, we will advocate its amendment,” Pupovac said after he met with Ikic-Banicek, calling for “particular sensitivity” to this underdeveloped county after the devastating earthquake on 29 December.

“We should see how we can help all who in this county need help in the reconstruction process,” said Pupovac, who as SNV president visited Sisak, Sunja, Hrvatska Dubica and a Roma settlement in Capraske Poljane to deliver humanitarian aid.