Post-earthquake reconstruction should be faster

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said during a visit to the northwestern city of Varaždin on Monday that the post-earthquake reconstruction process should be faster both in Zagreb and in the Banovina region.

He said it was a realistic possibility that the deadline for the use of funding from the EU Solidarity Fund for the reconstruction of buildings in Zagreb, damaged in the 22 March 2020 earthquake, would be extended, citing "the element of progressive damage" that was caused by the devastating earthquake that hit Banovina a year ago and that increased the earthquake damage in the capital.

"We will present our case and I am certain we will arrive at a solution allowing for this deadline to be extended and the funding used," Plenković said in response to questions from the press, agreeing with the assessment that the reconstruction process should be faster.

Plenković announced a meeting for Wednesday, when it will be exactly a year since the Banovina earthquake, to sum up what had been done and what would be done in the reconstruction process.

"We have invested a huge amount of money so far, doing what was necessary in this first phase of assistance. The government's task is to intensify the reconstruction process. Tenders for substitute housing have been launched and those for multi-residential buildings will be launched. This process will be stepped up now. Unfortunately, the earthquake was so strong that this process will last for years. It's not something that anyone can do overnight, so of course we will speed up the process both in Zagreb and in Banovina," the prime minister said.

Asked if Construction Minister Darko Horvat should have worked better, Plenković said: "We all need to work more and better in this regard."

On COVID-19 vaccination

On the subject of vaccination against COVID-19, the prime minister said he was not satisfied with the vaccination rate, stressing that the government and the health authorities had done all that was necessary and urged people to get vaccinated, but encountered a lot of actors on social media who were opposed to the government efforts.

He disagreed with the claims that the insufficient vaccination rate was due to poor communication on the part of the government and the national COVID-19 management team, stressing that they were consistent throughout the pandemic and that their recommendations could not have been clearer.

"Observe the epidemiological measures and get vaccinated, these have been the two basic messages from the government all along and no one can say that the government has been saying anything other than that," he added.

Plenković announced a video meeting for Tuesday with the directors of large state-owned hospitals and general hospitals to see to what extent the public healthcare system was ready to respond to the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Text: Hina

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