Vanđelić: The efficiency of the reconstruction is low, only 2.3 percent of citizens’ requests processed

The Director of the Reconstruction Fund Damir Vanđelić assessed on Friday that the implementation of the reconstruction in the five earthquake-affected counties is inefficient, emphasizing that the competent Ministry of Construction and Spatial Planning has processed only 2.3 percent of citizens’ requests. 

– The efficiency of the reconstruction is low. Out of 12,997 citizens’ requests, only 2.3 percent have been processed and converted into decisions and solutions. These are the only acts by which the Ministry of Construction and Spatial Planning instructs the Fund or the Central State Office to carry out the reconstruction – said Vanđelić at a press conference.

He believes that therefore “no one can be satisfied with the reconstruction”, but also that everyone bears the blame for it, including himself as part of the system.

– Obviously, I also bear the blame because I am part of the system; maybe I should have jumped on the table and shouted for things to happen. The responsibility is shared, on professional associations, on those who should initiate changes to the law” – he said, adding that it is not productive to talk about individual responsibility. 

The program of measures has only solved part of the problems 

Vanđelić welcomed the adoption of a new Program of Measures for Reconstruction, but noted that he had publicly warned about the urgency of its adoption before, even 25 times in the past six months. 

However, he believes that the new program has only solved part of the problems. Among the obstacles that hinder the reconstruction is that the current law has too many implementing bodies that do not cooperate sufficiently, so changes to the law should centralize project management and procurement. 

He also pointed out the too small number of employees in all bodies dealing with reconstruction,  and believes that urgent measures, repairs of chimneys, gable walls, staircases, elevators, should be addressed through organized reconstruction. Unresolved property-legal relations, especially in the City of Zagreb, as well as uncoordinated citizen participation in areas where a disaster has been declared and outside that area, are also problematic. He believes that therefore structural reconstruction should be financed at 100 percent in the entire area affected by the earthquakes. 

Change of law mentioned only three weeks ago

He stated that, despite warnings from experts and the Fund that a change in the law is needed, this was only discussed at ministry meetings and among all involved in the reconstruction three weeks ago. 

– The proposal for amendments to the Reconstruction Act was first mentioned at meetings about three weeks ago (…). And then it was concluded that we really cannot speed up the reconstruction if we do not change the law – said Vanđelić. 

He believes that the adoption of amendments to the law should take at least a month to create a quality solution and simplify the law, and he called on experts to get involved in the process of its amendment.   

– Their silence is not in the public interest and is not good – he emphasized. 

The Fund has received 57 decisions from the ministry so far

Citing work statistics, Vanđelić stated that the Reconstruction Fund has so far received 57 decisions from the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property, of which 21 relate to the demolition of houses destroyed in the earthquake, and the remaining relate to the payment of financial compensation for the temporary protection of earthquake-damaged buildings.

Four houses have been demolished, 224 public procurement procedures have been conducted, of which as many as 98 were canceled because the prices were too low under the previous program of measures. So far, the Fund has paid a total of 689 compensation claims for damages caused by the earthquake, with a total value of 35,827,981 kuna.

In addition, the Fund has also received 101 temporary decisions and 132 conclusions in which the Ministry requests the Fund to establish facts in the administrative procedure for processing reconstruction requests.