Hundreds of citizens protested in front of the government building in Zeljezno Polje, in Zepce Municipality in the Federation, over the fact that they have not received promised assistance following devastating floods earlier this year. Many of the village residents remain homeless, despite promises from the entity government to deliver reconstruction funds. Municipality officials say they are still waiting on aid payments from the entity.
An aid fund planned by the country’s Bosniak-Croat Federation entity has still not started working, meaning that money cannot be sent on to the municipalities and cantons to aid local reconstruction efforts.
Even though the necessary laws were adopted weeks ago, the fund was never properly activated and most entity ministers are now on their summer holidays for around three weeks….
In Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s mainly Serb entity, the authorities have already established a fund and started giving help to people in a form of payment cards worth 2,500 euro with which they can buy construction materials, furniture or electrical items.
The Federation entity government gathered more than two million euro in donations from the public to aid people affected by the floods while the government of Republika Srpska gathered around three million euro in the same way.
