MISMANAGEMENT IN INSTITUTIONS HARMS CITIZENS

SARAJEVO, September 1 /SRNA/ - Head of the Serb Caucus in the House of Representatives Milan Petković, stated today that the work of BiH institutions is marked by mismanagement and politicking, stressing that the intention behind the proposed state budget is not to help citizens.

Petković said that with the proposed budget for this year, both the BiH Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives were violated, all due to institutional negligence. "This is all just a game, both in terms of the Presidency and, to some extent, this House," Petković told reporters after an emergency session of the chamber, during which the draft budget for BiH institutions for this year—adopted by the Presidency of BiH by outvoting Serb member Željka Cvijanović—was sent back for revision. He said the budget's sponsor should have either withdrawn the proposal from the agenda of the emergency session, or MPs should have rejected or adopted it, instead of holding today's debate. "Clearly, this is some kind of game. This is a proposal adopted by outvoting Cvijanović, and then someone remembered to submit an amendment—which cannot be done under the Constitution. Deputy Finance and Treasury Minister Muhamed Hasanović first claimed it was an excellent budget, and now he says he's withdrawing it!?" Petković stressed. He underlined that it is unbelievable that the Ministry of Defense in the Council of Ministers is allocated more funds, while demining remains underfunded. "BiH allocates BAM 650,000 annually for demining. Just two days ago in Doboj, a 19-year-old boy was killed in a minefield. That news shook me deeply. We allocate BAM 650,000 for demining, and BAM 400 million for defense. Who are we defending against? We need defense from landmines so that our children don't keep dying," Petković said. He emphasized that the mission of the proposed budget is to strengthen BiH while weakening the entities, rather than to assist the citizens. The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopted a conclusion returning the Draft Law on the Budget of BiH Institutions and International Obligations for this year to the Presidency for revision, given that it is not analytically or substantively structured in a way that allows for implementation in the part concerning salary increases.