RUNIĆ: DRVAR AND ITS POPULATION ARE SURVIVING THANKS TO GOVERNMENT OF SRPSKA

DRVAR, JULY 10 /SRNA/ - Drvar and its predominantly Serb returnee population are managing to survive thanks to the continued support of the Government of Republika Srpska; the additional BAM one million provided by the Srpska Government will be used to assist residents of this municipality and for development projects, including the reconstruction of the veterinary station, Mayor Dušica Runić told SRNA.

Runić said that Drvar has received support from the Government of Republika Srpska for several years in a row, and that this assistance has also been allocated to the "Majka hrabrost" kindergarten since its establishment in 2018, and that the creation of this public institution was supported by Milorad Dodik. "Every year, the authorities of Republika Srpska make efforts to secure funds for its operation, as this kindergarten is attended by 80 children. A portion of the funds is always allocated for employees' salaries because the municipality is solely responsible for financing preschool education," Runić said. She said that the Drvar Municipal Administration, thanks to the support of the Government of Republika Srpska, has been awarding scholarships for several years to all students from this town, regardless of where they study. "We have increased payments for newborn children, we regularly support our first-graders, and we employ interns - our students," Runić said, adding that the Drvar Municipality is making efforts to direct most of the assistance received from the Government of Republika Srpska towards the population, to enable people to remain on their ancestral lands. Runić said that given that higher levels of government do not allocate funds for this purpose, the Municipal Administration has an obligation to finance accommodation in care homes for elderly people who do not have family members to look after them. "Last year, we allocated part of the funds for the rehabilitation of the public utility company Komunalac, and from this year, we can finally allocate part of the funds for development projects," Runić said. She announced that, thanks to this year's assistance from the Government of Republika Srpske, work on the town market in Drvar, which has been under construction for five years with funding from external sources, will be completed. "Part of the public lighting system will be reconstructed because we could not maintain it for the past three or four years," Runić said. According to her, a very important project for Drvar will be launched this year: the reconstruction of the veterinary station, as the Municipal Administration has been facing a shortage of veterinary services for years. Runić said that at the beginning of this year, an agreement was reached in cooperation with the Glamoč Veterinary Station for it to open a branch office in Drvar. The municipality’s obligation is to provide adequate premises that meet the required technical conditions and to equip them. "Part of the funds from this grant will be allocated for the reconstruction of the veterinary station, as well as for servicing the ongoing obligations of the Drvar Municipality," Runić said, adding that part of the funds will go towards financing the only radio station in the Federation of BiH that broadcasts a programme in the Serbian language, Radio Drvar, which has two employees.