Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Branko Ruzic has pointed out at the presentation of Exchange 5 Project today that the state has secured a continuation of financial and professional support for our municipalities and towns important for determining and making an inventory of the public property they hold and may dispose of.
The Minister explained that since the introduction of the Act on Public Property in 2011, local self-governments have been in a complex and long-lasting process of acquisition of property rights over the property they have used. “The situation is rather chaotic in this field, and in addition to the complex legal framework, there is also the complication of insufficient capacities and complex property-legal situations on the ground. All this slows down the process of registering the right over public property at the local level, which makes the municipalities unable to use their property for the adequate function – the function of development of their communities” said Ruzic and concluded that the majority of (85%) LSGU still lack complete data on the number and structure of buildings and land they could be legal owners of.
“These few facts indicate that the type of support provided through Exchange 5 Programme is exactly what our local self-governments need because asset management is one of the most important instruments of local economic development. We have lost some investors by postponing to address this important issue. Economic development is an obligation of local governments, not just a statutory obligation, but a real, life obligation, because every investment, any improvement in business, any part of the property that is given to an investor for a factory, or a building given for a new school or kindergarten, directly affects the quality and standard of citizens’ lives” said the Minister.
The Minister invited representatives of local self-governments to join the Exchange 5 Programme because through it they can acquire, not only the means to carry out this work, but also the knowledge and skills that they will be able to apply in practice later on.