Skopje, 3rd September 2014 (MIA) – Citizens showed large interest in writing off the debts. As of today inclusive, citizens from socially vulnerable categories submitted 17,600 applications to the centers for social work. They require writing off of debts they owe to the banks, being based on electricity, heating and broadcasting fee.
– Thus, citizens showed great interest in this project and we expect for significant number of citizens to additionally submit applications by 12th October, up to when the applications can be submitted. This means that expectations will be fulfilled, in terms of massive favourable reaction by citizens, falling in the respective categories, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Zoran Stavreski said today at the signing ceremony of the agreements with the creditors that got involved in the measure for writing off the debts.
He stressed that it is a matter of intensive action in which, in addition to the Government, EVN Makedonija, Toplifikacija, MRT, ELEM, as well as the Chamber of Enforcement Officers and Chamber of Notaries were involved, by which all relevant entities will participate therein, thus contributing to successful realization of this Project.
– By signing these agreements, all entities showed high level of social responsibility. Thus, we will help the most vulnerable categories of citizens and therefore, I believe we should express gratitude to them, and we should also stress that this will enable us to continue to help the citizens in terms of the new bills for heating, electricity and for them to be able to settle the liabilities and make the payments to the banks more easily and regularly, Stavreski pointed out.
He called all citizens covered under the law, to submit applications for writing off the debts in the centers for social work.
Minister of Labour and Social Policy Dime Spasov said that most applications, 2, 700 were submitted in Kumanovo, followed by Tetovo with 1,700 applications, Prilep with 1,300 applications, Gazi Baba and Cair with more then 1,000 applications. On daily basis, as he said, 1,500 to 2,500 applications for writing off of debts are submitted to the centers for social work.
Maja Sterieva, representative of the Banking Association, assessed the so-far cooperation as successful, pointing out that the banks have no data about the amount of the debts they should write off, however, it is estimated that it is not a matter of an amount that could jeopardize the banks’ balances.
Igor Gievski, President of the Management Board of EVN Macedonia, assessed that the project will help the most vulnerable categories of citizens in settling their liabilities and making their spending plan more easily.
According to Dejan Boskoski, ELEM General Manager, this Project will help and protect the citizens, and it will also help ELEM to clear the balances.
Zoran Petreski from the Chamber of Enforcement Officers assessed this Project as noble one. This measure covers social assistance beneficiaries, unemployed persons actively seeking job for longer than 12 months and persons who, due to death or severe disease in the family, could not settle their liabilities. Debts incurred as of 31st December 2013 inclusive are being written off, while the first decisions are expected to be reached in the second half of October.