ZAGREB, 8 Feb 2022 - The head of the post-earthquake reconstruction task force, Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved, on Tuesday informed the ruling coalition partners about the status of works in the quake-hit Banovina region.
After the meeting, the vice president of the ruling HDZ party, Branko Bačić, said the construction of the first 30 prefab replacement houses had begun.
This week the construction of another 30 brick houses will also begin, he said, adding that tenders and public procurement will now be continuous, giving reconstruction in Banovina a big momentum.
Regarding reconstruction that does not involve seismic retrofitting, Bačić said that Medved informed them that 1,332 houses had been rebuilt and that it was now the turn for another 1,000.
The goal is to give a roof over the head of every Banovina inhabitant by the end of the year so that they don't welcome next winter in inappropriate conditions, he said.
Also, Bačić dismissed accusations from the opposition Bridge party that the government was stalling the verification of signatures it collected for a referendum against COVID certificates.
"It's in the interest of us in the ruling majority, too, to have the number of signatures checked as soon as possible," he said.
The proposal of the parliamentary committee on the constitution on the two referendum petitions will be debated at a plenary on Thursday and only when parliament votes on it can the government begin verifying the signatures, he added.
MPs will also debate the possibility that representatives of the two referendum petitions monitor the signature counting and verification.
