Amidžić: State budget to be resolved in a package with 800 million KM held by RAK, UIO, Elektroprijenos accounts

(Patria) - Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH Srđan Amidžić stated today in Sarajevo that the issue of this year's budget for BiH institutions is being attempted to be resolved in a package with 800 million KM held by three institutions.

"These are issues we are trying to package into one political package and resolve both the budget issue and these funds in a package," Amidžić told reporters, stating that the draft law on the budget of BiH institutions for 2024 is both an economic and political document that requires consensus.

Amidžić added that the commitment is for BiH's budget framework for 2024 to be within the scope of last year's, given that real life takes place in the entities.

"From that perspective, a certain political consensus needs to be defined in order to propose a document that would be adopted," Amidžić said, emphasizing that through temporary financing, it has been ensured that all budget users function without problems.

He expressed regret that funds that are unnecessarily held in accounts in BiH have not been put to use through the budget.

"We currently have over 800 million KM in accounts in BiH waiting to be used – these include excise taxes related to road tolls, road and highway construction, funds from Elektroprijenos, and funds received from the Communications Regulatory Agency," Amidžić specified.

Amidžić stated that it is absurd to discuss loans with creditors for certain projects while 800 million KM in unused funds, for which there is no political agreement, lie in accounts.

More than 260 million KM in excise taxes collected for road construction are held in the UIO BiH account alone, but the Management Board of UIO BiH cannot reach an agreement on their distribution, and the federal minister Toni Kraljević does not want to act to the detriment of the Federation of BiH.