At 4 p.m. the deputies stopped the discussion on the agenda of the Third Sitting of the First Regular Session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in 2009, in order to pose questions to the Government in line with article 200 of the Rules of Procedure.

Although Milan Markovic, Tomica Milosavljevic, Slobodan Milosavljevic and Jasna Matic, Government ministers, attended this part of the sitting, the deputies deemed that it should have also been attended by the Prime Minister and all the ministers so that all the concerned deputies could ask the appropriate ministers questions and receive answers, thus exercising control over the Government’s work.

Deputy Vladan Batic asked the Minister of Culture and Information about the situation in TANJUG, stressing that we are witnessing the collapse of the reputation of this significant national institution, which has been without a director for ten months, and suffers from bad interpersonal relations, accumulating debts and no regular financing of its activity. The second question he addressed to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, regarding the equalisation of rights within the reserve forces, of those who, in spite of the negotiations and protests, have not realised their right to wages unlike a part of the reserve forces who have realised this right. The third question he posed to a large number of ministers regarding the measures implemented to remedy the irregularities in the fields of urbanism and utility services in Obrenovac, where he lives.

Deputy Gordana Comic asked two questions of the Minister of Health. The first one dealt with the standardisation of the quality of services in maternity wards, for both first and all other labours, and the second with how much has been done on spreading awareness about the importance of prevention and early detection of cervical and breast cancer. The second question she posed to the Minister of Telecommunication regarding the introduction of free internet, not only in parks in the big cities, but throughout Serbia.

Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic said that he will submit a detailed written answer to the questions, and on the occasion, he stated that the maternity wards in Serbia, all 58 of them, are constantly improving and the death rate of mothers and babies in the maternity wards is on a steady decline, making Serbia number six in Europe, the same rank as Switzerland. He also mentioned the beginning of partnership with the gynecological and non-governmental sector on the improvement of the quality of services in the field. Regarding the prevention of cervical, breast and colon cancer, Milosavljevic said that Serbia has adopted a National Strategy Against Cancer, and an intensive campaign of raising public awareness about the fact that secondary prevention, early detection, can help cure these illnesses in a large percentage, begins as soon as 14 April this year.

Minister of Telecommunication and Information Society Jasna Matic mentioned that free internet will be installed into all elementary schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, academic network and Telecom. In addition, the introduction of new technologies which will enable access to telecommunication services and the internet on the territory of Serbia, particularly in rural areas, is already underway.

Deputy Sasa Dujovic asked the Government why the last disability check paid to the families of fallen and disabled military servicemen was decreased and what the Ministry of Defense is doing to solve the problem of homeless servicemen, of which, according to him, Serbia has over 5 000.

Deputy Momo Colakovic asked when the Laws on Civic Associations, Sport and Privatisation in Sport will return to Assembly procedure. Pointing out that the citizens of Novi Sad wait too long for the issuance of personal documents, IDs, passports and traffic documents, the deputy asked what the relevant Ministry will do about it, since the actions undertaken to decrease the crowds so far have not given satisfactory results.

Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Milan Markovic answered that the Law on Civic Associations has been prepared and that it is expected to enter Assembly procedure in about ten days, after adjustment with the Ministry of Finance.

Deputy Djordje Milicevic had a question about the Government’s program of measures aimed at weathering the financial crisis, i.e. where does further infrastructural development stand in the Government’s program, particularly how does the Government view the potential continuation of the construction of the Valjevo-Loznica railway line. He also asked whether the budget rebalance will allow additional funds for this year so that the total funds for the alleviation of the consequences of the earthquake in the Kolubara region will be on level with last year’s.