The Government, with the support of EU delegation, is launching housing projects for Roma, which are part of IPA II funding measures in the amount of EUR 3.2 million.
Projects will be implemented for a period of 3 years in Prilep, Bitola, Shtip, Berovo and Kichevo. They will cover the legalization of the homes of the Roma population, improve the infrastructure in Roma settlements, construction of new housing for Roma, but also employment of young Roma and support for Roma students through tutoring.
Houses of 700 Roma households in Prilep, the properties of 5,000 Roma in Bitola, 1,027 houses in Shtip and 40 houses in Berovo will be legalized within these projects.
“The project also includes construction of new dwellings, 50 houses in Shtip, 20 apartments in Kichevo, and at the same time there will be reconstruction of 50 houses in Prilep and 15 houses in Berovo,” Minister of Education and Social Policy Jagoda Shahpaska said Wednesday at the joint press conference with PM Zoran Zaev and EU Ambassador David Geer.
For that purpose, Prime Minister Zaev said, a mapping of Roma settlements in all municipalities was done, and the draft-amendments to the law on treatment of illegally constructed buildings were submitted to the Parliament.
“This enables the persons who have failed to legalize their residences in the past period, to be able to re-submit documentation and the persons who are the beneficiaries of the guaranteed minimum assistance will be exempted from the overall legalization costs,” Zaev said.
This year, it is planned to start the process of preparation for the new strategy for Roma, which is expected to be completed by August at the latest.
According to EU Ambassador Geer, these projects are a continuation of the EU’s support for Roma integration over the years, which includes education, training and retraining, inclusion of Roma women, and support for identifying Roma who do not have personal ID cards.
“The goal of this event is to send a strong message to all stakeholders. It is important now to make a change in the fight against discrimination against Roma and to include them in the mainstream of society. I believe that these projects will contribute to achieving this goal, which is not only a goal for North Macedonia, but for Europe as a whole,” Geer said.
Conditions under which Roma live are poorer compared to conditions where other citizens in the country live. It is often time about long term settled areas with unclear ownership status and beyond urban planning and without infrastructure.
More than 50% of the families are living with one more family together in their community within a space of 2 to 5 sqm, half of them lack of conditions for personal hygiene and they lack water in their homes, MP Ljatife Shikovska said.
