President unhappy with pace of reconstruction

President unhappy with pace of reconstruction

BELGRADE -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić has said that residential and public buildings damaged in the May floods must be repaired faster.

He stated he was happy with the work by the Office for Assistance and Repair of Flooded Areas, but that the effort "must be faster and include more volunteers."

Serbia should display the same kind of will and enthusiasm it should during the four days of the floods, when it fought to prevent its total destruction, he told Tanjug.

This is a priority on a national level, he stressed.

The repair effort cannot be entrusted to one office and its small staff, he underscored, pointing out that he had proposed the creation of a temporary ministry in charge of repairing the flood-hit areas.

Nikolić noted he had expected the office entrusted with the job to be organized differently and to give instructions to engineers and experts throughout Serbia.

Referring to the experience of a foundation headed by his wife, Dragica Nikolić, the president said that "some objective circumstances" were also slowing down the effort - such as "a large number" of the destroyed or damaged structures having no building permits, or being connected to the electrical grid illegally.