October 15^th, 2016

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and President of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, Mrs. Zorana Mihajlovic, has said that one of the priorities of the Government of the Republic of Serbia is to reduce violence against women, as well as to increase their economic independence and employment.

At a panel discussion on Gender Equality held in the City of Nis Assembly, Mrs. Mihajlovic said that women in Serbia are paid approximately 30 to 40 percent less for the same job in comparison with men.

She also pointed out that women should be much more represented in social and political life, as well as in the highest state positions.

Deputy Prime Minister invited women to be unique such as men are, thus contributing to the creation of a modern Serbia.

The Coordination Body for Gender Equality was established on the proposal of the Serbian Prime Minister, Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, and in no European country such a body is set at such a high level, because it is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, she noted.
Mrs. Mihajlovic commended the Mayor of the City Nis, Mr.  Darko Bulatovic, for his great support to gender equality, considering the fact that Nis has a Safe House of a regional character.

The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic, pointed out that the City of Nis has a large number of women participating in politics and  that a lot of them are at important positions.
The director of the Safe House in Nis, Mrs. Sonja Šćekić stressed out that women suffer violence for a long time because of their economic dependence on men, and stated that the most difficult situation is when mothers who suffer violence from their adult children come to the Safe House.

October 15^th

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic spoke, in Nis, who wanted to present their problems to the PM directly. Prime Minister Vucic said that some problems could be resolved, some could not. He said that the citizens mostly complained about the difficulties in solving health, housing, economic problems. He added that all those in political offices were actually paid by citizens and that they were obliged to make responsible and honest decisions and that people valued work, diligence and dedication. Vucic announced that the practice of talking with citizens would continue. One of the citizens who talked with the Prime Minister was Marina Adamovic, a woman in wheelchair who has been collecting help for sick people for years in the center of Nis. She asked the prime minister to provide an improvised facility to protect her in winter and from hot weather. More than 1,200 citizens from Nis and the surrounding area have applied to talk with the Prime Minister, and Vucic met with more than 20 of them, mostly with those who have the most difficult problems. The Minister of Labor and Social Care Issues Aleksandar Vulin and Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic were also present at the talks.

October 15^th

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said today at the start of the meeting with the ambassadors of EU countries in Serbia that European future belonged not only to Belgrade and Novi Sad, but also to all other parts of Serbia. He expressed gratitude to all the embassies and in particular to the Head of Mission of the EU to Serbia Michael Davenport on attending a meeting with members of the government in Nis. According to Vucic, the City of Nis is one of the most important and largest cities in Serbia, and not only the center of five districts, but also of the south and southeast Serbia. We will do everything in our power so that the citizens of this part of Serbia are equaled with other parts of the country, Vucic said. The meeting of the Prime Minister and members of the government with the ambassadors of the EU countries was held in the Officers’ Club in Nis.

October 14^th

RS Minister without Portfolio Milan Krkobabić, who will be in charge of coordinating and directing the work of public companies in the next period, pointed out today in Nis that the goal of the Government of Serbia was to establish better coordination between republic and city public companies. At the meeting with the directors of all public companies in Nis, founded either by the City or the State, Minister Krkobabic talked about the real problems that those companies were facing in order to take the right steps in the future to overcome these problems. Krkobabić pointed out that all public enterprises must face essential reforms, business and financial, and that the goal was to make all these companies profitable, to further develop and to contribute to the budget. At the same time, he pointed out that it was very important that companies were socially responsible and that they were expected to improve the quality of their services. “The goal of this government is to put the companies on healthy feet and it is good that in this business, which is not easy, we have the support of employees and representative unions”, said Minister Krkobabic. The meeting was also attended by Nis City Council Members Svetozar Aleksov and Igor Vojinović.

October 14^th

Public finances in Nis are not in good shape, Prime Minister Vucic said during a visit to the City Hall in Nis, but he also pointed out that there were a large number of projects whose realization would contribute to Nis becoming more like Belgrade or Sofia and not only the center of the southeast Serbia, but center to the surrounding countries. The Prime Minister pointed out that the City of Nis had a big deficit and reiterated that the Serbian government could help so that the largest part of the funds in the amount of two billion dinars, which had been allocated for the South of Serbia, could be given to Nis. He reminded that in the coming days a contract with the Leoni factory with new 2,200 jobs would be signed, and announced that the Government would also bring investors from the Philippines and Germany, which would put Nis in line with large industrial centers. Also, as he added, the funds would be invested in the IT sector, i.e. in the Technical School and the Faculty of Electronic Engineering, as well as in the construction of a technology park. The government will continue to invest in important state projects, such as Corridor 10, railway relocation, Nis Airport and it will continue to subsidize the arrival of new investors. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovis said that all remarks and suggestions made by PM would be respected and that the budget proposal would be forwarded to the Government of Serbia for opinions and suggestions

October 14^th

RS Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Mladen Sarcevic and Minister of Youth and Sports Vanja Udovicic visited today the new building of the primary school “Ivo Andrić” in Nis. The director of this school, Milica Petkovic, introduced a high delegation of the Government of Serbia to the functioning of this school, which recently got a new facility with its modern teaching and well-equipped gym space. Minister Sarcevic announced that the weekly curricula would additionally be enriched with sports activities. Nis City Council Members Branislav Kacar and Bojan Krstic were also part of the delegation. This visit was the occasion for the ministers to hand over the sports requisites and balls that would be used in the regular classes.

October 14^th

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic handed over the keys of the Mercedes-Benz bus to the Nis Public Transport Directorate. This modern air-conditioned bus is a gift from the City of Belgrade to Nis and it will be used for city transport lines.

October 14^th

By laying flower wreaths at the Monument to Liberators at the Square of King Milan in the city center and at the memorial complex Bubanj, the anniversary of the liberation of Nis in the Second World War was celebrated. City of Nis delegation, led by Deputy Mayor Prof. Dr. Milos Bandjur, paid their respects together with the delegations of the Serbian Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior, the Nisava District and the Association for the Conservation of the Traditions of the Liberation Wars of Serbia. Nis was freed on October 14, 1944, when the 22^nd Division of the People’s Liberation Movement entered the city and attacked the German troops from the south.

October 13^th, 2016

The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic , the Mayor of the City of Niš, Mr. Darko Bulatović and the representative of the OSCE mission, Mr.  Stefan Wredenmark attended the opening of a seminar intended for the Security Council of the City of Nis, organized by the OSCE, Media and Reform Center and the City of Nis.

One of the main objectives of the local authorities is to provide safe and quality life of all the citizens of the City of Nis, in cooperation with the relevant institutions and citizens.

The Security Council of the City of Nis has been established by the new city government willing to continue and improve the initiatives related to better and safer life of the citizens The Council is intended to be a mechanism of communication and consultation of local authorities, police, judiciary, health and of other important factors relevant to local security.

The members of the Security Council of the City of Nis are familiar with the methodology of strategic planning of local security, with the methodology of local security evaluation and with the defining of the objectives and priorities.

October 13^th

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic announced today the relocation of the railway from the center of Nis and added that those works, worth 80 million euros, would begin in 2018 at the latest. A new 22-kilometer long line, which will be built from Prosek towards the northern city area, will be dual-track and electrified since it will be the part of the Railway Corridor 10. The negotiations with the European Investment Bank for providing money for the project have already commenced. Deputy Prime Minister Mihajlovic said that the land expropriation would be completed in 2017 and that after that, the relocation that had been discussed for 30 years would begin. The Minister pointed out that it was very important that this line was moved because of the safety of the citizens, “We detected all the points of risk at the road and railway crossings throughout Serbia. We started investing money in their removal, and we are building a new dispatch center that will completely manage the railway infrastructure and all transitions, “said Mihajlovic. The City of Nis will expropriate land and provide part of the funds for the implementation of the project, added Mihajlovic. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic said that this railroad has been threatening people’s safety for decades. He pointed out that the city will do everything within the stipulated deadline. “It is a project of national and state interest, and it is the Corridor 10 route, not the bypass. Mayor Bulatovi concluded by thanking Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Minister Mihajlovic for all the support.