Analysts: High Costs in BiH Presidency Not Surprising, Even Fruit Is Bought for Representation

Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and staff spent 487,153 KM on travel expenses last year, according to the financial audit report of the BiH Presidency.

Of that amount, expenditures for foreign travel amounted to 430,033 KM, while domestic travel costs were 57,119 KM. The money was mostly spent on accommodation abroad (170,360 KM), transportation abroad (150,164 KM), per diems abroad (99,114 KM), and accommodation costs during official trips within the country (30,453 KM).

Journalist and political analyst Almir Terzić said that such an audit report does not surprise him, as wastefulness has persisted for years.

- Not only is money spent on fuel and tires, but even fruit and fast food are bought on the representation account - said Terzić.

- Some have built houses and weekend cottages by falsely declaring addresses of residence and receiving hundreds of marks for transportation. And when they were threatened with SIPA and asked to sign a statement, they said they felt threatened. For a transportation allowance of 53 KM, they fought by engaging BIHAMK to measure the distance from work to home, and if it wasn't enough, more than 2 kilometers, they said they had to go around the building to add a few hundred meters. And what will change (after this audit report)? Nothing. Voters will again vote for the same people on October 2 - Terzić believes, as reported by Patria.

The audit report of the Office for Audit of Institutions of BiH states that travel orders often list only an official or official visit to a specific destination by order of the Chairperson/member of the Presidency as the purpose.

- By reviewing the documentation justifying the travel, we could not verify the justification of the trip, nor the duration of the trip itself. By reviewing certain travel reports of drivers, it can be noted that only an official trip is mentioned, without specifying the official task for which they were sent. This method of justifying travel orders, without preparing an adequate report and defining the purpose of the trip, does not ensure control over the spending of public funds - states the Office for Audit of Institutions of BiH, as reported by Patria.