Vucic: Municipalities getting huge funds, must prepare projects well

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic thanked the French Development Agency and the World Bank on Friday for their huge support and funds provided to local self-government authorities in Serbia to enable them to bid for various projects.

Addressing a conference on a 265.2 mln euro project for local infrastructure and institutional development (LIID) in Serbia, Vucic said the municipality of Trstenik alone would receive funds equivalent to 12 pct of its budget.

"Those are huge funds. In some municipalities, it is 30 pct of the budget," Vucic said.

Officials of local authorities must demonstrate knowledge, commitment and a desire to get the best projects in the interest of Serbian citizens, he said.

Greater seriousness and responsibility must be demonstrated as well, Vucic said, noting that the government had invested enormous amounts of money - millions of euros - in waste water treatment plants.

"But to no avail, because we did not know how to operate them," Vucic said, noting that this was due to negligence that must not happen again.

That is why it is important to have control and a commission to determine how money will be spent and on what projects, he said.