MINIĆ: HOUSING FOR VETERANS' CATEGORIES SHOULD BE RESOLVED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 16 /SRNA/ – Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Savo Minić said that he wants the housing issue of veterans' categories to be accelerated and resolved as soon as possible.

Minić stressed that the Government is addressing this issue on a continuous basis and that, together with certain local communities, it is purchasing apartments in order to complete the housing provision for veterans’ categories in Republika Srpska as quickly as possible.

After handing over keys to 15 apartments to families of fallen soldiers and war disabled veterans in the Ada neighbourhood of Banja Luka, Minić expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in this activity.

He also said that the drafting of amendments to the Law on the Rights of Veterans, War Disabled Veterans and Families of Fallen Soldiers is expected to be completed in February.

Minister of Labour and Veterans' and Disabled Protection Danijel Egić told reporters that the apartments in Ada were allocated on the basis of the Government Regulation on Housing Provision for Families of Fallen Soldiers and War Disabled Veterans from the first to the fourth category, adopted in 2019 and expanded in 2020.

He said that this regulation also envisaged the allocation of funds for veterans' categories from the 2025 budget, noting that funds had recently been secured for housing provision in three local communities in Republika Srpska.

"In the past two months, with the participation of local communities, we purchased four apartments for four smaller local communities, which contributed 30 percent of the funds," Egić said.

Banja Luka City Manager Mirna Savić Banjac told reporters that today's allocation of apartments to veterans' categories in the Ada neighbourhood is a significant project, alongside the recent unveiling of the Central Memorial to fallen soldiers of Republika Srpska in the Homeland Defence War.

To date, the Government of Republika Srpska has provided housing for a total of 943 beneficiaries in Banja Luka, that is, 470 through the allocation of housing units and 473 through non-refundable financial assistance, at a total cost of BAM 20.7 million.

Today, keys were handed over to 14 families of fallen soldiers and one war disabled veteran.

The event was attended by the presidents of the Republic-level and the Banja Luka city organizations of families of fallen soldiers and war disabled veterans, Isidora Graorac and Bojan Keleman.