Tomašević on Reconstruction, Public Tenders, and Savings in the City

Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević explained at today’s press conference that the city’s reconstruction has not started as it should have and that they are therefore advocating for changes and amendments to the law that would enable its adequate implementation, but he also announced that schools will begin their reconstruction.

– It has long been time to find the right solutions for reconstruction. As far as we are concerned, we have been in communication from the beginning with both the ministry and the fund and we want to help – Tomašević explained.

He also explained that he is abandoning the project in Sveti Klara that was planned by former mayor Milan Bandić for citizens who lost their homes in the earthquake, and that these citizens will instead move into city apartments.

– Instead of waiting for the construction of the project in Sveti Klara where citizens would be temporarily accommodated, we have opted for city apartments because that is a faster solution. For now, city apartments fulfill the purpose of that project – Tomašević added.

Regarding the reconstruction, he further added that he believes it should be block-based, and his deputy Luka Korlaet added that reconstruction is a collective, not an individual problem.

It is necessary to spend reasonably

In addition, Tomašević announced that next week he will announce the first public tender for city department heads for three city offices, and a tender has also been announced for the director of the Children’s Hospital Srebrnjak.

– We are looking for three city department heads. The City Office for Property Management, the City Office of the Mayor, and the City Control Office. These are three offices that have legal continuity and we wanted to announce that the tenders will start – Tomašević explained.

He also explained that in some cases he is waiting for cooperation contracts to expire for which they would later seek more reasonable offers, as is the case with the flags that have been placed in the city. He believes they should not be completely removed, but that their current quantity is too costly. He also added that he has signed a request for the termination of the contract for the decorative lighting of the Mladosti Bridge.

– This is another example. About 17.5 million kuna was spent on this, and in such circumstances, I believe it is unnecessary – Tomašević added.

When asked by journalists about the maintenance of events in the city center, he explained that parks should serve as green spaces, but that does not mean there will never be any events in the city.

– We are moving towards a new policy where there will be clear criteria for obtaining leases and it will not be possible to obtain locations through connections. There must be a distinction between different events, but also that they do not last for several months – Tomašević explained.

In general, he emphasized that the overall idea is better city management and in that sense, he also reflected on the compensations they have sought.

– We have sought compensation where possible. If we had not submitted a compensation claim, it would be harder to collect damages if the defendant later turns out to be guilty – Tomašević explained.

Introduction of Civic Education

Regarding the start of the school year, Tomašević explained that nothing changes regarding the acquired rights related to textbooks and that they are satisfied because they managed to pull funds for financing teaching assistants.

– We have three times more teaching assistants funded from European sources, the project is worth 20 million kuna. A total of 925 teaching assistants are engaged, which is the highest number so far – Tomašević said.

He also explained that they are increasing capacities for kindergartens and trying to raise the pedagogical standard, which has been low for some time. He also added that they are working on introducing civic education in schools and that the public call for kindergarten boards is currently functioning well.

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