Arnaut condemns blocking of reform laws in BiH House of Peoples: Three is not four

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Damir Arnaut condemns today's blocking of four reform laws in the House of Peoples, which were previously adopted in the House of Representatives at the proposal of members of the Our Party - Independent Bloc Caucus.

These four laws provided for the reduction of: 1. Severance pay upon retirement, 2. Salaries of elected and appointed officials, 3. Privileges such as bodyguards, official cars, and bonuses, and 4. Excise duties on medical alcohol.

Three of the laws were specifically designed to combat the economic consequences caused by the COVID pandemic. These four laws provided for millions in savings, as well as relief for the economy in every part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Arnaut reminds that last year he pointed out that the SDA had rendered the state-level government meaningless when it gave Dodik and Čović a controlling stake, i.e., four delegates each in the House of Peoples. These 8 delegates from HDZ and SNSD blocked these reform laws today, but the SDA bears equal responsibility because it enabled them such dominance by supporting the fourth delegate for Dodik and Čović in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, or in cantonal assemblies.

Such a move also led to a situation where the upper house of the state parliament - after more than a month of work - is today considering only 2 laws proposed by the current Council of Ministers of BiH, which is half the number of the aforementioned four laws proposed by the opposition, i.e., the Our Party - Independent Bloc Caucus. For comparison, the SDA/HDZ/SNSD Council of Ministers of BiH consists of 20 members, while the aforementioned Caucus has 4 members.