CSS: Although state revenues are growing, the Minister of Finance announces a budget reduction for 2024

(Patria) - At the very least, the statement by the new Minister of Finance of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Srđan Amidžić, that he will propose a smaller budget for BiH institutions for the next year, 2024, seems strange, the Center for Security Studies announced.

The statement, let us recall, comes only a day after the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (UIO BiH) presented data that during the first nine months of the current year, revenues increased by 515 million KM or 7% more compared to the same period in 2022. Consequently, the new state budget should increase by at least that percentage.

At the same time, one must consider the fact that the state budget, due to the inappropriate attitude of politicians, has been "sacrificed" at the expense of entity revenues for over a decade. Immediately after the establishment of the UIO BiH, the state budget was larger than the entity budgets, and now it is several times smaller, causing major problems in the efficiency and sustainability of institutions at the state level.

Certainly, one example is the Ministry of Defense of BiH (MO BiH) and the Armed Forces of BiH (OS BiH), which are perhaps the most affected by insufficient funds to carry out their mission and mandate. Back in 2016, the Presidency of BiH adopted the documents "Defense Review" and "Development and Modernization Plan of the OS BiH," which envisioned long-term financial investment in strengthening the defense system. Despite political agreement, state budgets in the following years did not provide any financial resources to support the creation of a development budget for the MO BiH and OS BiH.

The latest example, when the Council of Ministers of BiH did not give consent for the allocation of funds in the amount of 3.6 million KM for the procurement of new helicopters, represents yet another insidious form of circumventing a political agreement, aimed at undermining the readiness of the OS BiH. Hindsight is most acceptable for critics, which does not absolve the authors of this statement either, but it is inconceivable that no one from the highest structures pays attention to the details of implementing the said political agreement.

The explanation of the new Minister of Finance of BiH, that funds from the current reserve cannot be used for this purpose, is entirely logical and justified, because the law stipulates that they can only be used for urgent and unforeseen situations during the year. Therefore, someone in the government structures should have timely noticed and notified that the previous conclusion of the Council of Ministers of BiH, i.e., the consent for the procurement of helicopters, cannot be implemented in this way.

Without disputing the minister of finance's claims that all institutions must behave more rationally, efficiently, and responsibly in spending budget funds, as auditors regularly warn, the timely adoption of an increased budget is the only adequate indicator of the readiness and commitment of politicians to make BiH more functional and promising," the Center for Security Studies (CSS) believes.