One of the residents of the informal Roma-Egyptian settlement “7. jul” in Tivat Besim Balajaj He is dissatisfied with the way the Municipality implemented its promised assistance last year to some of the residents of that settlement who were left homeless in a fire at the end of March last year.
Balaj claims that they were promised eight housing containers to replace the burned and dilapidated barracks, but that only four have since arrived. One was allocated to Balaj and two to his neighbor. Muhammed Dzemaili, while the fourth one, which was also installed a few days ago, was removed, leaving Balaja's sister without accommodation. Valentina who claims to be a single mother with five children and living in extremely poor conditions.
"After the fire that left us homeless, the leaders of the Municipality visited us, provided emergency assistance and promised to provide us with temporary accommodation in housing containers that the Municipality would purchase and leave here. At that time, it was announced that eight containers would be purchased and installed because the needs and interest of the locals were so great. Some of them have since given up their requests to receive containers and have remained living in dilapidated and improvised facilities. The Municipality gave me and my family one container and I thank them for that. The Džemaili family was allocated two, considering that Muhamet has eight children and they need more space. However, although it was brought and installed in the settlement, the fourth container was not allocated to my sister Valentina," said Baljaj.
When asked to comment on Balaj's claims, the Municipality told "Vijesti" that the local government "has taken a series of steps to help families whose property was destroyed in the fire that occurred in March last year."
"The Investment Directorate entered into the procurement of four containers. The number of containers purchased and later allocated was defined based on information submitted to the authorities through applications from residents of the "7. jul" settlement (which clearly states that two families were left without housing in the fire), but also based on the minutes of the Commission that visited the burned location. The Commission was made up of representatives of the Municipality of Tivat, the Tivat Red Cross and the Center for Social Work. The Commission visited the families and buildings that were damaged in the fire and reported the situation to the authorities. Due to the large number of people in one of the two families whose housing facility burned down, a decision was made to give them two containers, while one container was given to the other family," stated the PR service of the Municipality of Tivat, adding that in order for the delivered containers to be installed and put into operation, the local administration had to obtain the consent of the "Mesopromet" company from Bijelo Polje, which owns the land on which the containers were installed.
"During his mandate, the Mayor of the Municipality discussed the housing problem of the residents of the informal settlement "7. Jul", which is located on private property, with the people living in the settlement, with several institutions and humanitarian organizations, in order to permanently resolve the issue of their housing," the local administration points out.
They did not provide a precise answer as to why the fourth container that was installed in "July 7" was removed from that neighborhood a few days ago, but they said that Valentina Balaj had moved into that facility illegally in the meantime.
"Valentina Balaj, who illegally entered one of the delivered containers, was not allocated a container as temporary accommodation because the Commission, which conducted a field visit, determined that the residential space where she lives with her family was not directly affected by the fire," the Municipality explained.
The fourth container has meanwhile been stored at Opatovo and is being managed by the Red Cross.
For the upcoming session of the local parliament, which is scheduled for today, a draft Decision on the donation of these containers to the Tivat Red Cross municipal organization has been prepared. The containers were given to two families from the “7. jul” settlement for use until the need arises, that is, until they solve their housing issue in another way.
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