Vucic in Sabac promises new hospital, sewers and roads

Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the “Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia” list, promised at a campaign rally in Sabac on October 14 to build a new hospital he values at about 135 million euros, to finish more than 150 kilometers of sewers, and to lift the average wage in Sabac and Loznica above 1,450 euros within four years. The rally took place in the pedestrian zone of Gospodar Jevremova Street, in front of the City Administration building, and people began gathering around 5 p.m. K1info reports that the program started around 6 p.m. Vucic is the only speaker the sources mention.

What exactly was promised for the hospital?

Vucic said 4.2 hectares of land have been secured for the new hospital, which the City of Sabac bought for about two million euros. The building would cover roughly 76,000 square meters, and the first estimate of its value, as he put it, is about 135 million euros. He added that Sabac could not raise that kind of money in a hundred years.

This is how he made the promise:

“But now I promise you, within this first and biggest job we will do on health facilities, we will build a new hospital in Sabac, to the pride of all of Sabac and all of Macva.”

The sources disagree on the deadline. K1info and NS Uzivo report that Vucic said the project would be finished in two months, while Podrinske writes that the design work should be done in two to three months. None of these reports gives a start date for construction or says how it would be financed.

The idea itself is not new. In his speech Vucic recalled that he had talked about a hospital and water supply for Sabac in previous days. What is new are the numbers: the size of the plot, the floor area and the estimated value.

Sewers, roads and universities for Macva

On sewers, he said the work began during the Covid period and then ran into problems “from the paperwork kind to the substantive kind.” His conclusion:

“We must finish more than 150 kilometers of sewers here in Sabac, so that this beautiful city finally gets the best possible infrastructure for itself.”

On roads, he mentioned:

• the road toward Cer and the surrounding villages
• Varna, Pricinovic and Desic
• the section from Lipnicki Sor toward Lipnica and Grncara
• an extension of the expressway from Loznica to Mali Zvornik, and then a possible link along the Drina to Bajina Basta

On education, he said he would like universities and student centers in the Macva District:

“I want some of the faculties to be here in the Macva District too. I want student centers to be here.”

Among the investors he personally brought to Sabac he named Jazaki and a Chinese robot factory. He announced new investors for Sabac, Loznica, Bogatic, Koceljeva, Vladimirci, Krupanj and Mali Zvornik.

Wages and pensions

He promised that the average wage in Sabac and Loznica would be above 1,450 euros in four years, and added:

“That is my promise, and hold me to my word.”

This is an average wage, not a pay level everyone would receive. In a single sentence he added that pensions would rise by more than 10 percent next year if economic growth exceeds 4.2 percent.

The political part of the speech

A large part of the appearance was aimed at the Student List. Vucic claimed that the list received additional overseers “from Kurti’s list” so that its representatives would recognize an independent Kosovo and impose sanctions on Russia, but he offered no evidence for this in the speech. The sources do not carry a response from the Student List.

Speaking about Montenegro, he retold a statement by Montenegro’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mirsad Nurkovic that Serbia should pay Croatia the compensation Zagreb is demanding from Podgorica. K1info gives a figure of 2.7 billion euros, while in the NS Uzivo report Vucic speaks of three billion. The sources do not carry what Nurkovic said in his own words. Vucic replied:

“Serbia is a serious country. You will not racketeer Serbia, and you will not rob this people.”

If he becomes prime minister, he promised there will be no more political classes in schools and universities. He summed up the message in one line: “Politics, march out of the university and out of the schools!” Later that evening he said on TV B92 that the coalition around the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) will not have a majority in the National Assembly unless it wins an outright majority in the election. As for the outcome of the October 25 vote, he said in Sabac: “If we lose, we will extend a hand. If we win, we will work.”

The only estimate of the crowd came from Vucic himself, when he spoke about some 15 people who tried to prevent the rally: “And you, 10,000 of you, should be afraid of those 15?” The sources give no estimates from the organizers or the police.

At the end of the speech he singled out his attitude toward domestic and foreign political judgments:

“And I will not serve anyone except you, the citizens of Serbia. I am your servant, and for all those others from outside, from abroad, I am the master, and I will never let them rule over Serbia.”

He made infrastructure promises earlier in the campaign too: in Zajecar he announced the Paracin-Zajecar-Negotin expressway, as we reported. For Macva this time the list is a hospital, sewers and roads, while the sources record neither construction deadlines nor a way of financing them.