Due to the fire in the facility for accommodation of old and infirm persons in Vojka near Stara Pazova, in which two women were killed, the president of the Association of Private Institutions of Social Protection, Radoslav Milovanović, tells "Vreme" that so far dozens of illegal facilities throughout Serbia have been reported to the competent authorities, most of which have been closed, but after the event in Vojka, one can assume that some others are working.
"Previously, the media reported on illegal homes in Pančevo, Borča, Sremska Mitrovica, Arandjelovac and other places," says Milovanović.
It is a criminal act
As long as the judicial authorities do not understand that the illegal provision of professional services is a criminal offense, such events will be repeated.
"In this case, organizing collective accommodation is an obvious violation of the law on endangering people's safety and health, i.e. work and employment, fire protection, tax evasion and many others. Bringing people's lives into a conscious danger implies the criminal responsibility of the founder, as well as the relatives who placed someone in such a facility, as well as the responsibility of all those who had to discover it in time and immediately close it", explains Milovanović.
The interlocutor of "Vremena" adds that the inspections of social protection, labor and employment, the department for emergency situations of the MUP, as well as the market and tax inspection were the ones that could seal this facility first.
Guilt "by depth"
"Everyone is guilty 'deep down', including the neighbors from Vojka who knew about the existence of this facility and did not report it to the competent services, the local police, the health center or our association so that any of us would undertake adequate activities in connection with the illegal operation of this facility", says Milovanović.
The same organizers, when one facility is closed, move to another in a short time and continue their work, he says, because no one stops them in an adequate way, and above all the judicial authorities because they are only convicted of misdemeanors and sometimes with minimal fines.
Stricter sanctions to preserve dignity
"We appeal that this problem be taken seriously and that the competent authorities invest additional resources in identifying, controlling and shutting down illegal homes." We also ask that the regulations be revised in order to ensure stricter criminal sanctions, because only through adequate punishments can we send a clear message that the safety and dignity of the elderly comes first. We hope that such requests will start a serious public discussion on this issue and lead to more permanent solutions", concludes Milovanović.
Provincial Secretary for Social Policy Predrag Vuletić stated that the inspection determined that the fire broke out in an unregistered facility for the accommodation of the elderly at the address Solunska 14 - Vojka, the existence of which it had no prior knowledge of.
