By Amra Vrabac
The Commission for Transport and Communications of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sent a request to the House to include a new item on the agenda of the 29th session, which will be held on June 12.
The proposed item reads: Analysis of the situation of the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) with proposals for measures and conclusions to overcome the current alarming financial collapse, as well as the establishment of an effective long-term financing and functioning model for BHRT.
The information provided by the Commission to the House of Representatives on June 5 details BHRT's problems, its debt to suppliers, its obligations, and proposes the following conclusions:
1. The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH notes that the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) is in serious danger of ceasing operations and declaring bankruptcy after prolonged denial of stable financing, which is a result of the non-implementation of the Law on the Public Broadcasting System of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2005.
2. Due to the extremely complex financial situation of BHRT and the inability to pay its debts on various grounds (debt to the European Broadcasting Union, debt for salaries, contributions, utility services, etc.), the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH instructs the Council of Ministers of BiH to plan and allocate financial resources in the amount of 20,000,000.00 KM in the budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the needs of the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT).
3. The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH requests the Council of the Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH to submit to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, within 15 days, based on Article 22, paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of the Law on the Public Broadcasting System of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Proposal for a Decision on the amount of the RTV fee, especially considering the fact that the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, acting on the proposal of the Agency, adopted a Decision on the amount of the RTV fee that entered into force on June 5, 2015 (,,Official Gazette of BiH", number 45115).
Furthermore, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH reminds the Government of the Federation of BiH that at its 22nd session, held on October 22, 2024, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopted a conclusion proposing that the Government of the Federation of BiH urgently amend Article 29, paragraph (2) of the Law on Enforcement Procedure of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in such a way that the account for the RTV fee or an excerpt from the business books for the RTV fee price also has the status of a credible document, which would enable an increase in the collection rate of the RTV fee in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The last conclusion is that the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH requests the Supervisory Board and management of BHRT to prepare a Plan for the rationalization and consolidation of BHRT within 60 days and submit it to the House of Representatives.
It is proposed that the Minister of Transport and Communications Edin Forto, the General Director of BHRT Belmin Karahmedović, and the Chairman of the BHRT Supervisory Board Slavko Rolih be invited to the session for this item.
It should also be recalled that one of the priorities set by the European Union for BiH is a stable and strong Public RTV Service.
The General Director of BHRT, Belmin Karamehmedović, had previously informed the Presidency of BiH, the Council of Ministers of BiH, the PS BiH, and the Government of FBiH about the financial situation of BHRT and its inability to function normally, and requested that a method for temporary co-financing of BHRT be found, specifically 900,000 KM per month as compensation for the revenue not collected by RTRS from the collected RTV fee. The debt of RTRS to BHRT from 2017 to date is 95 million KM.
BHRT's debt to EBU amounts to 20,949,889.30 KM, and a deadline has been set until the end of February 2026 to pay the debt, otherwise EBU will seek to block BHRT's accounts and proceed with the sale of BHRT's movable assets to protect the rights of other EBU members.
BHRT's debts are due for payment
In his information, Karamehmedović also attached all reminders for unpaid bills, including one from JP Elektroprivreda BiH, through whose accounts the RTV fee is collected in FBiH. In his letter to Karamehmedović, the General Director of JP Elektroprivreda BiH, Sanel Buljubašić, requests the settlement of debts, otherwise, the electricity supply could be cut off.
BHRT also has debts for supplied gas, waste disposal, news agency service fees, and owes suppliers for delivered equipment and services.
At the end of May, the management of BHRT sent a letter to all BHRT employees informing them that salary and compensation payments would be delayed because the account was blocked due to the collection of court judgments obtained by employees who sued BHRT for unpaid contributions.
Karamehmedović also informed the Commission for Transport and Communications that BHRT does not have the money to pay all lawsuits and claims. An additional problem is that since January of this year, the minimum wage has increased, and it was necessary to increase the salaries for 505 employees, so the entire amount collected from the RTV fee is spent on salary payments.
New Supervisory Board being elected amidst crisis?
At this session on June 12, the agenda also includes the appointment of members of the Supervisory Board of the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH from the constituent peoples and from the category of others.
There are two Bosniaks, three Croats, six Serbs, and one from the Others category on the ranking list. The BHRT Supervisory Board has four members, one from each constituent people and one from the Others category.
Regarding the candidates from the Serb people, there are six candidates on the list, and the top-ranked is Radmila Bojanić, who is under sanctions from the United States of America. She was sanctioned in January of this year as one of the managers of companies connected to the Dodik family. She was one of the founders of the company Sirius 2010, and later Nimbus, which were also sanctioned. Sirius in mid-2024, and then Nimbus as the legal successor of Sirius. Incidentally, that company was part of the Consortium for the digitalization of public RTV services worth 25 million KM, and after the sanctions, the entire job was taken over by the Zagreb-based company Odašiljači i veze. The digitalization process is not yet fully completed.
It should be noted that the fees for Supervisory Board members are extremely high, amounting to three minimum wages. Therefore, members from FBiH would receive 3,000 KM per month, and members from RS even more, as the minimum wage is higher, i.e., 1,300 KM for university-educated individuals.
Precisely because of the high fees, state representative Jasmin Imamović requested an urgent amendment to the Law on the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to reduce the fees from three to two minimum wages. However, there was no entity majority for the urgent procedure at the session on May 15, nor in the Collegium, so the report is being sent to the House of Representatives of the PS BiH for a vote.
Both houses of the PS BiH need to vote on the new composition of the BHRT Supervisory Board. However, even if a new BHRT Supervisory Board is elected, the accumulated problems will not be resolved.
Komentari (0)
Prijavite se za komentiranje
PrijavaJos nema komentara. Budite prvi!
Minuta
Sve →Iz drugih kategorija
High Representative Not Elected: Germans, French and British Sabotaged Americans, New Attempt at End of June
ČOVIĆ WITHOUT MERCY: How Those Who Brought Ademović to Office Created a Political Hell for Him
Sunny Saturday, quite warm
Tragedy in Albanian resort: Two minors drown
