SAJIĆ: UNPAID DEBT TO BADEN-WURTTEMBERG THREATENS NEW DIPLOMATIC EMBARRASSMENT FOR BiH

STUTTGART, SEPTEMBER 3 /SRNA/ – BiH Consul General in Stuttgart Vera Sajić said in a statement to SRNA that BiH is once again facing a diplomatic scandal and major embarrassment over a debt owed to the Ministry of Education of the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, resulting from the alleged misuse of funds intended to co-finance supplementary schools in the mother tongue.

She said that about 15 days ago, the BiH Consulate General received a letter from the Ministry of Education of Baden-Wurttemberg stating that interest as of August 31 amounted to around EUR45,000, while the total amount being claimed from the consulate was EUR112,551. "When I took office as consul general at the end of September 2023, the amount requested by the state ministry was around EUR 32,000, but later the investigation into irregularities, namely the misuse of donated funds, was extended by another two years, increasing the amount," Sajić clarified. She noted that the German ministry is seeking repayment from the BiH Consulate General, because the funds had been paid into its account, and the consulate was responsible for submitting reports on how the donated money had been spent. Sajić said she had been informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH within the Council of Ministers about the German ministry's claims for the past three years. "Certain individuals clearly used the money for purposes for which it was not intended; it ended up in someone's pockets, and BiH was disgraced as a result. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been bringing shame on itself for three years now because it has not repaid the money, while the interest continues to grow," she stressed. She pointed out that she had received confirmation that the BiH Prosecutor's Office had opened a case into the matter, as well as assurances that German prosecutors were also working on the case. She said she had discontinued the practice of accepting donations. "Even if I accepted donations, that money should go toward its intended purpose - supporting the education of Serb, Bosniak and Croat children, that is, members of all three constituent peoples in BiH" Sajić said. Sajić has also informed the public and Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković in previous years that the Ministry of Education of Baden-Wurttemberg was seeking repayment from the Consulate General of BiH over the misuse of funds.