The Government of the FBiH has yesterday accepted the initiative for opening of stores for poor, which has been proposed by the federal minister for market, Desnica Radivojević, by a model of those recently opened in Slovenia. Similar store will be opened on March 25th in Belgrade, and it will offer about 300 groceries with prices 50% lower than in other stores.
Slovenian SOS store
The first Slovenian SOS store for poor has been opened two days ago in Ljubljana, and basic groceries and hygienic requisites can be bought there by 70% less expensive than in commercial stores. The establisher of this store is the Association SOS, which intends to open around ten stores more. All members of the association have right to buy things in this store, and members can become pensioners, as well as the unemployed and workers with the incomes smaller than 500 Euros per month, by having to prove their status with appropriate documentation.
The Government has obligated Radivojević and the Ministry of work and social policy to prepare a program of realization of this initiative in which would be determined sources of financing, bearers of work and deadlines of its execution.
Deprived commodity
Radivojević says that the program could be finished by May and that the first such stores could be opened on summer in Sarajevo, Tuzla and Mostar. She says that priority is solving the normative-legal segment for opening of stores and identification of future consumers.
– Since there is no money for new projects in the federal budget, we will launch a campaign for assistance to opening of these stores. It has been planned to open a humanitarian telephone line by which the citizens could give money for that purpose. We will invite the companies which produce or distribute groceries to donate those which will expire soon or to reduce their prices by 30 to 50%, and planned has also been selling of commodities deprived at customs – has been said for "Dnevni avaz" by minister Radivojević.
She says that the stores will be totally non-profitable, but expects that they earn some money for paying the bills and certain remunerations for employed disabled persons, if possible.
– We will probably copy Slovenian system, so consumers will be buying by cards, which will be possible to receive by those to whom the Federal Ministry of Work and Social Policy approves in cooperation with municipal authorities – Radivojević has explained.
Prevent misuses
The decision of the Federal Government has been welcomed by representatives of the Association for protection of interests of consumers of canton Sarajevo, by pointing out that the initiative of minister Radivojević is surely implementable.
– There is no word on underestimating of citizens because such stores function for years in Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium … They will have a double effect: citizens will get stores in which they will be able to by groceries by lower prices, and opening these stores will influence the prices in normal stores, or they will reduce them to a right measure – explains Mesud Lakota, secretary of Association.
– Initiative for opening of stores for poor is also being supported by the Union of pensioners of the FBiH, but they add that all required measures need to be undertaken in order to avoid misuses.
– I am glad that such projects are being initiated in our country as well, but I hope that those stores are not going to become warehouses of corrupted commodity and that only those, who need this, will be buying there – has been said by Šefkija Elezović, chairman of the Union.