House of Peoples of FBiH: Budget for 2020 Adopted

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The House of Peoples of FBiH supported the Budget of FBiH for 2020.

In the discussion about the Budget of FBiH for 2020, delegate Damir Marjanović from the Croat people stated that it is noticeable how little the Federation has planned for education. He added that based on the PISA test results, we should not say that our children are illiterate, but that these results are a direct consequence of (non)investment in the education system.

Ivo Tadić (HDZ), president of the Croat Caucus, said that the Budget should be supported.

On the other hand, Zvonko Marić said that a kind of psychosis is being created that there will be no pensions, benefits, etc., and delegates are brought to a fait accompli that they must support the budget, otherwise they will be characterized in public as those who work against the people.

"What to do now. Only to provoke the anger of the people who depend on that budget. But, this is a critical budget and we cannot influence it, and we must support it at this crucial moment," Marić pointed out.

Delegate Aner Žuljević (SDP) from the Other Caucus said that there is no reason or justification to say that it will cause anger, because there is justification for why the urgent procedure should have been voted against.

"And not to vote for the urgent procedure, and then criticize the FBiH Government. One should have had the character to vote against the urgent procedure. This mandate can be summarized in one sentence: an ordeal of citizens' survival. This FBiH Government has turned life into mere survival," Žuljević added.

Hadis Jusić (SDA) from the Bosniak Caucus pointed out the omissions in the Federation Budget regarding the problems and needs of the Una-Sana Canton. Among other things, Jusić highlighted the problem of the Cantonal Hospital, road infrastructure, and similar issues.

Interestingly, the president of the Bosniak Caucus, Jasmin Duvnjak (SDA), said that the Bosniak Caucus would support the FBiH Budget, and the Speaker of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, Elmedin Konaković, is also in this Caucus. Konaković later emphasized that he did not attend the Caucus session last night.

The discussion could be characterized in one sentence as "everyone dissatisfied, budget received support".

The point on the Proposal of the Law on the Execution of the Budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2020, as well as the Proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Budgets in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, passed without discussion.

The Budget of the Federation of BiH was also adopted in the House of Peoples. Given that it was adopted in the identical text as in the House of Representatives of the FBiH, all that remains is for the President of the Federation to sign the decree on the promulgation of the Budget. The Budget enters into force the day after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH.

Along with the Budget, the Proposal of the Law on the Execution of the Budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2020, and the Proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Budgets in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were also supported.

Delegates supported the amendments to the Law on the Treasury of FBiH and the Law on Contributions.

The Proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Monetary Support in Agriculture and Rural Development was also supported.

The House of Peoples took note of the Information on the extension of the validity of the Medium-Term Development Strategy of the Agricultural Sector in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2015-2019 until the end of 2020.

The House of Peoples also supported the Proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Interest Rate of Late Payments on Public Revenues.

During the discussion on the Proposal of the Decision on Granting Consent to the Financial Plan of the Federal Employment Service for 2020 and the projection of the plan for 2021 and 2022, and the Decision on the Execution of the Financial Plan of the Federal Employment Service for 2020, Elmedin Konaković (Narod i pravda) from the Bosniak Caucus stated that this is normal policy and state, delegates would be locked in the hall today, and there would be 50,000 people outside.

"We would sit here until we figure out how to employ young people. We have recently won second place for youth unemployment in the world. We have left behind Botswana and similar third-world countries," Konaković added.

Aljoša Čampara (SDA), Deputy Speaker of the House, responded with a rebuttal, stating that the reason why the views of the competent authorities on this point were not heard was the fact that most had the opportunity to hear them multiple times.

After some "pulling" and calling delegates from the hallway, the Proposal of the Decision on Granting Consent to the Financial Plan of the Federal Employment Service for 2020 and the projection of the plan for 2021 and 2022, and the Decision on the Execution of the Financial Plan of the Federal Employment Service for 2020 also received support.