Jevtic: The municipality of Strpce does not receive any help or support from the Government of Kosovo, only obstructions

The President of Strpce Municipality, Dalibor Jevtic, stated today at the session of the Municipal Assembly that this local self-government had not received any help and support from the Government of Kosovo, but that they had been only blocked in their work.

He emphasized that the infrastructure projects, which had been planned to be financed from the municipality's own revenues collected in 2021 and 2022, had not been realized, because those funds had not been transferred to the municipality, that is, they were not available.

"Not only did the Government of Kosovo not give a single cent to the municipality of Strpce for projects this year, but also what belongs to us and what was prioritized for this year, they took that away from us," Jevtic said.

He stated that, after the municipal leadership had found solutions for many of the problems, and some of them had been adopted by the Assembly, always after sending the decision to the responsible ministry, the municipality had encountered a negative response or at least insurmountable obstacles, and therefore the obstruction of the central authorities, on many issues essential for the establishment of quality and, above all, peaceful life in the municipality, had been more than obvious.

"According to that, not only have we not received any support and help from the Government of Kosovo, but they are blocking us in every way from our work. And those who invite our citizens to some kind of competition, who promise the citizens I don't know what kind of help, let me tell you right now, nothing will happen out of it. Their contests can be described in the same way as one of the contests read, I quote, 'to strain your eyes and spine' - and that is the best description of what kind of contests we are talking about," Jevtic said.

He emphasized that it was not the relationship that the Government of Kosovo had with the municipal leadership of Strpce but with the citizens of the municipality, where not only the Serbs lived, but also Albanians and Roma people.

"As long as I am in this position, my colleagues and I will use every opportunity to reduce unemployment, use all the projects we can that are financed by USAID or other international institutions, but also the Republic of Serbia, because the Government of Kosovo, although was required by law, it did not grant us a single project that would make life easier for our citizens. It even denied us access to our own funds from 2021 and 2022, which is against the applicable legal norms," Jevtic said.

He pointed out that he would seek money and funds for projects from the Republic of Serbia, which was ready and had the ability to help the citizens of Strpce.

"They are ready to help everyone, both for projects in places where Albanians live, and for projects in places where the Serbs live, and for places where both the Serbs and Albanians live," Jevtic said.

He pointed out that these problems would not exist when the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities was formed.

"When there is, and there will be one day, the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, these problems will not exist, because we will be much more practical in our work. As the president of the Municipality of Strpce, I call for the establishment of the CSM as soon as possible," Jevtic said.

Referring to the fact that the Pristina authorities, as he said, did not respect the law, the President of Strpce said that December 21 had a difficult day and he added that the consequences of that day were felt even today.

"The violation of human rights and the detention of our fellow citizens for 18 months is against the valid legal procedures on criminal proceedings. And imagine now that I, like the Prime Minister of Kosovo, attacked the prosecutor, how would it end? And we are not asking for anything apart from respecting the basic human rights of our citizens, and not interfering in the process as Prime Minister Kurti gives himself the right. But I am convinced, no matter how long we wait, that we will see justice. Because as I have repeated many times until now, the truth is as and water, it always finds its way," Jevtic said.

At the fourth regular session of the Strpce Municipal Assembly, among other things, the quarterly financial report was discussed, as well as the establishment of the Working Group for the development of an action plan for the preparation of the budget for years 2022-24.

In his address at the end of the session, Jevtic also answered the councilors' questions related to the fire station in Strpce, the overflowing of streams and rivers on certain sections of the road, for which the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure is responsible.

It was also about the asphalting of the Jazince-Sevce road, as well as the construction and reconstruction of a section of the road in the village of Brod.