We realized long time ago that we do not have time to wait for the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Hezegovina to join the European Union, so we started bringing Europe to Lopare. Our key priority is to create good living and working conditions for the young people here and their families.
„People come first to the leadership of the municipality of Lopare. The priority is finding employment for municipal residents because new jobs are both a guarantee and safety for young people living in this Majevica municipality. We pay equal attention to the socially most vulnerable categories, education, culture, and sports,” says Rado Savić, the municipal president.
Lopare is a small municipality located at the foot of the Majevica Mountain, which was a deeply affected by the transition first, and the crisis later. After the privatization, several larger companies were plagued by problems and the number of unemployed, including those people with college and university degrees, rose and at one point the unemployment rate was 40%. Like many other municipalities, Lopare faces the migration problem with young people here leaving for European countries. However, the well-thought out economic policy and fostering long-term relations with the diaspora yielded results, while investors, both foreign and those who had invested before, are now returning to Lopare.
For decades, a third of the Lopare population has been living and working in Western Europe, but they invest most of their savings in their town of birth.
At the same time, business people living in the diaspora are bringing their German and Swiss business partners to Lopare, who are interested in investing in this municipality. Lopare is considered one of the more undeveloped municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska. Thankfully, Russian and other investors have shown interest in investing in it. Along with the construction of new production facilities, old production plants of former industrial giants, such as Termal and agricultural machinery factory, have become operational again, after the decades-long recess. The aforementioned Termal used to export products to the markets of the former Yugoslavia, Austria and Germany before the war. The company was re-launched last year, after ten years of bankruptcy, and now it has a new radiator production line. Also, after a long break, the Table and Chair Factory was re-launched, which went bankrupt 14 years ago. A Chinese company is the majority owner of the factory, while the co-owners are from Belgrade and Bijeljina.
Also, there is a plan to develop tourist offer here which includes building a hotel, a weekend resort, apartments for sale, ski slopes, a ski lift, a lookout, a man-made lake, hiking trails and sports grounds in Busija near Lopare.
The construction of a car camping facility, spanning 13,000 square metres, in the village of Mačkovac near Lopare, began in August this year, and when completed in the spring of next year, the camp will offer recreational activities, cycling, hiking and other activities. This camp will also serve as ‘a springboard’ for other tourist attractions Lopare can offer.
At the beginning of this year, the first job fair took place here as a result of positive economic development in the previous year, which was spurred by new jobs in areas that revived or expanded their economic activities.
Why has Lopare been so appealing to foreign investors for years? What attracts them to your municipality?
– Today, Lopare is a modern municipality with its residents having access to almost everything that people in any part of Europe also have access to. We realized long time ago that we do not have time to wait for the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Hezegovina to join the European Union, so we started bringing Europe to Lopare. We work and act according to the standards and rules that apply in the developed world, which is the reason why we have managed to develop Lopare, as an example to others.
Are there enough jobs for young and professional people here?
– In the past year, 392 new jobs were created in Lopare, and we also carried out activities that made the municipality economically stronger. The municipal budget has increased by 10% compared to the previous year and currently amounts to 5,380,000 KM. This allows us to fulfill all of our obligations toward our residents on time and to provide help when people need it. The municipality exists because of people, not vice versa.
The Termal boiler and radiator factory, the only factory of this kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the driving force of the economy of the Majevica region, has become operational again.
For the time being, Termal has 72 employees, and the average salary in the company is 900 KM. The company plans to expand its production when all the production facilities are completely launched, and once that is done, it will have 170 employees, which is considered a significant success for our municipality.
The wood processing company Wood World has also launched its production, and they export all of their products – steamed wood and semi-products made from beech – to China.
This company has hired 50 workers so far, and following the launch of new product lines, it will employ even more. It has recently participated in the prestigious furniture fair in Guangzhou, China. By doing so, the company also represented our municipality.
In the past few months, numerous foreign investors from Germany have visited the Lopare Municipality. They are interested in launching metal and meat processing companies here. There were also several investors from Turkey who were interested in taking over bull breeding and poultry farms. At the beginning of the year Dragan Jović, a successful businessman from Austria, who was born here, started planting a 50-hectare-orchard with 40,000 plum trees. This fits the spirit of the Majevica region perfectly because we are known for our plums and plum brandy.
You are a good example of how diaspora and domestic investors can work together. What is your recipe for winning over the people from diaspora?
– We, just like the entire Republic of Srpska, have been facing the problem of migration and our residents leaving for the countries in Western Europe. Lopare is one of the very few municipalities that has an excellent communication with its diaspora. Many people who have succeeded in business abroad are now coming back, wanting to invest in their homeland, create new jobs and live in Lopare. Their know-how and experience are valuable to local business people too.
How much did life in Lopare change thanks to investments?
– We have a good potential for development, we know what our advantages are, and we have quality people. We overcame many problems and we are focusing on the future which lies with young people and knowledge. The adopted population policy, and the annual budget allocation of 50,000 KM in support of a higher birthrate, are already giving results. We also trying to help young parents in other ways too.
Municipality that people come to
What do citizens see as the immediate benefit of investments? How does the municipality use the available resources?
– We want Lopare to be the municipality that people come to, not leave. We are aware of the fact that in order to have good life, having a job does not suffice. We also need the so-called “social upgrade” – culture, art, and sports. We have been investing more and more in these segments, to the satisfaction of our citizens.
We are especially proud of our volleyball club, which became the champion of the Republic of Srpska, never ever losing a game. They really represent our municipality in the best possible way.