Municipalities commit to dedicated use of Roma funding
Trebnje, 17 January - Municipalities where Roma communities reside signed an agreement in Trebnje, southeastern Slovenia, on Wednesday to commit themselves to dedicated use of the EUR 8 million state funds they receive in total as areas with Roma population. The mayors again called for systemic measures to address Roma-related issues.
Trebnje
Municipalities with Roma population commit to dedicated use of the state funds they receive to address Roma issues.
Photo: Aleš Kocjan/STA
Trebnje
Association of Municipalities head and Kočevje Mayor Vladimir Prebilič and Trebnje Mayor Mateja Povhe.
Photo: Aleš Kocjan/STA
The municipalities signed the agreement under the auspices of the Association of Municipalities (SOS).
"I personally think that a special agreement is not urgently necessary, since we have been spending the funds in a very transparent and clear way so far, but there is nothing wrong with formalising this," said SOS head Vladimir Prebilič.
He pointed out that there was not enough funding to tackle all Roma-related issues, noting that in addition to more funds, the municipalities would like to see systemic measures at national level.
A total of 25 municipalities out of the 212 receive dedicated funding to address these issues. Kočevje, a municipality whose mayor is Prebilič, receives EUR 340,000 per year, but it in fact spends some EUR 600,000 on these issues, almost double the amount it gets, he said.
The mayors are disappointed that the government has not yet drafted the promised systemic measures, with Trebnje Mayor Mateja Povhe arguing that they were a must. In the absence of them, the Roma's dependence on social transfers will only be prolonged, she added.
They also regret that the National Assembly voted down in October a legislative package sponsored by eleven municipalities and aimed at improving the situation of Roma children, who are reported to have been often missing school.
Fifteen municipalities signed the agreement today, four did it earlier, and the rest are expected to follow suit in the coming days.