The greatest success in fighting the coronavirus pandemic is the fact that we had no active cases in Cetinje, Mayor Aleksandar Kašćelan told in an interview for Dan daily. He underlines that this happened thanks to the joint efforts of residents, local self-government and the Municipal Security and Rescue Team.
“In order to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the economy, the local government adopted measures worth about 500 thousand euro, and during the previous period we assisted the healthcare institutions in Cetinje, as well as the socially vulnerable people, while employees of the Old Royal Capital donated 18.5 thousand euro to the National Coordination Body,” he said.
- Key moments from the interview with Mr Kašćelan –
How did the Old Royal Capital Cetinje deal with the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic?
Kašćelan: We adhered to the recommendations of the National Coordination Body, NKT, to the highest extent possible, while the local self-government, as well as the most important enterprises, were at the state’s disposal. The local govt alongside citizens and healthcare institutions from Cetinje undertook a range of activities in mid-February in order to be able to react timely and curb the spread of the coronavirus.
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Does Cetinje plan to assist the local industry and in which ways?
Kašćelan: The working group set up to estimate the impact of the virus on Cetinje’s industry adopted a range of measures on 5 May, totaling around €500.000, and the aim is to assist companies and entrepreneurs affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Before that, the Old Royal Capital adopted measures to support the economy on 1 April.
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The Old Royal Capital literally gave up on its own revenues for three to six months. We assessed that we can do it without causing troubles for the functioning of the local self-government.
We want to help companies and entrepreneurs who had to cease with their work from 19 March, abiding by the recommendations and measures of the NKT. Of course, we hereby mean on companies and entrepreneurs who were operating legally and paying liabilities to the state regularly.
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Will the local self-government face the crisis having in mind the budget won’t have the projected revenues, and what are you going to do, that is, are you going to ask for the state’s assistance?
Kašćelan: It’s likely that the state budget revision will take place, while the local one will happen by autumn. Regardless of that, it’s too early to speak about the crisis. We hope we will be able to organize ourselves well and do everything in our power to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus on the economy and citizens.
