The Preševo Public Utility Company “Moravica” today got a new garbage truck worth 70,000 EUR, funded by the European Union and the Swiss Government via the European PROGRES Programme.
During the key handover ceremony, Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency Director Ms. Isabel Perich noted that Serbia has set an example in the region because of the efficiency and humanity with which it has been looking after the refugees and migrants.
“I particularly wish to commend the efforts invested by the Preševo Municipality in responding to the challenges brought on by the migrant crisis and the genuine solidarity Preševo residents have been showing the migrants and refugees,” said Ms. Perich. She said that the local community should be provided with part of the assistance and that the garbage truck would help improve the sanitary and hygienic conditions in which the refugees and migrants have been staying, but in the long run this donation should contribute to more effective waste management in the municipality.
The European Union and the Swiss Government provided 170,000 Euros via the European PROGRES Development Programme in the past six months to improve the capacities of the Preševo Reception Centre. The Centre has been supplied with 900 blankets, 700 sets of bed linen and 350 pillows, mesh containers, a water reservoir and 15 mobile toilets.
“The European Union has been continuously supporting the Government of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the smaller non-government organisations devotedly working in the field and assisting the migrants and refugees on their long and strenuous journey,” said Mr. Richard Maša, the Head of Operations III, Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.
He added that a place where the people could rest, especially in the winter months, had been the top priority in the past months and that the aid efforts were now turning towards the host communities. “Our goal is to alleviate the inevitable pressures on the local utility companies. The donation of the garbage truck is an example of concrete support to the municipality to help it respond to the consequences of the migrant crisis,” Mr. Maša said.
Preševo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa thanked the European Union and the Swiss Government for being the first to recognise the needs of the local self-governments in view of the recent developments. “The donation of the garbage truck is extremely important for the municipality, because it will help us maintain a satisfactory degree of cleanliness in the municipality and the Reception Centre,” Mr. Mustafa said.
European PROGRES donors have been helping Serbia respond adequately to the challenges brought on by the migrant crisis – in the last quarter of 2015, the European Union donated over 20 million Euros and the Swiss Government designated one million Swiss francs to help Serbia deal with the large inflow of migrants. Over 600,000 people passed through Serbia in 2015.
