Mayor Matuško for Patria: The state has finally started cooperating with Neum

NEUM, (Patria) - The only Bosnian-Herzegovinian town on the Adriatic coast, Neum, is rapidly preparing for the start of the tourist season. Although all hotels in Neum have been open for two months, work on the beach, construction and renovation of facilities indicate that this coastal town is just gearing up for summer.

A larger number of seasonal workers from inland Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming from Sarajevo, Tuzla, Goražde, and other cities, are also noticeable in Neum. However, given the increased emigration of young people from BiH, Neum also lacks labor. Živko Matuško, the mayor of Neum municipality, told the Patria news agency that this problem is evident here too, although he believes that fewer people are leaving Neum than from other BiH cities.

Photo Patria

“Fewer people are leaving Neum than from other places. Of course, there is a shortage of workers everywhere, including here,” says Matuško.

He points out that Neum is one of the safest places in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that increasingly “better guests” are coming to Neum.

“All of this is the result of the work, primarily of our tourism workers, municipal authorities, and all those who have a program and task on how to prepare for the tourist season.”

“The season has already started in Neum. It lasts much longer than before. It’s not like before when we had a season of two or three months; now we have both pre- and post-season. Hotels in the third and fourth months are doing better than in the seventh and eighth months. This makes us happy. The number of guests this year could be higher than it was in 2018. Tourist capacities are also expanding. The town is constantly being improved to ensure a successful tourist season,” says Matuško.

The Pelješac Bridge, which the Croatian government is building in the Bay of Mali Ston, does not worry Mayor Matuško, although experts warn that Neum could “die” tourism-wise because the bridge will somehow close off the town, as most traffic to Dubrovnik will no longer pass through Neum but will go over the bridge.

“The construction of the Pelješac Bridge is progressing well. Croatia is connecting its southern part with the rest of Croatia. This will not harm the municipality of Neum; on the contrary, it will relieve traffic through Neum. There will be fewer crowds in the summer. It is almost impossible to cross from the border crossing to Bistrina in the summer. We have a road towards the interior of the country that is being built at a good pace and which will bring us a larger number of guests. This makes us happy,” says Matuško.

For years, there was talk of a stepmotherly attitude of the rest of the country towards Neum, while Matuško emphasizes that this has now changed.

“There can always be better and more, but recently we have had good cooperation with the canton and the Federation. This makes us happy; most of the help comes from higher levels of government, and the cooperation is excellent,” Matuško points out.
 

One of the devastated facilities Photo Patria

Neum certainly has problems that local authorities are struggling with. For example, Neum is still burdened by ruined buildings on the coast that do not have resolved ownership.

“When the Privatization Agency announces tenders for sale, new owners always come forward, and the sale fails. This bothers us a lot. It would be best to demolish such facilities because they are an eyesore, but the Municipality cannot do that. These were once famous resorts; we played there, grew up there, and today they cause us problems,” says Matuško.

Regarding construction, Neum is seeing more activity than in other parts of BiH, claims Matuško, explaining that roads are being built, the Kozarica - Hutovo water supply system, two hotels are being built that will open this year, and work is being done on improving the beach.

“We need to expand the beach area due to the increased number of guests, but the construction of the municipal building is also a priority,” says Matuško.

For years, municipal waste from municipalities in neighboring Croatia and from the Pelješac peninsula has been disposed of daily in the municipality of Neum. Mayor Matuško says this is a concession to Croatia because Neum's sewage goes into the regional canal.

“Well, our sewage also goes through the regional system. It goes Komorna - Neum - Ston - Mljet Channel. We are neighbors; why shouldn't we agree and negotiate on everything?” says Matuško.