Two Years Since the Fire: Bihać Hospital Begs for Alms, Council of Ministers Unwilling to Help

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not support the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Cantonal Hospital Dr. Irfan Ljubijankić in Bihać, which was almost completely destroyed in a fire more than two years ago, reports the Patria news agency.

We published this story recently, after MP in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Senad Šepić proposed that the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH, in preparing the Budget of the Institutions of BiH for 2016, find a solution and secure funds to support the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Cantonal Hospital in Bihać in the amount of 1,500,000 KM.

However, judging by the response sent, financial assistance will be absent. The response states that „there is no legal jurisdiction of the institutions of BiH for financing, i.e., planning funds for the reconstruction of the hospital in Bihać.“

- The Federation provides funds for investment and maintenance of healthcare institutions of importance to the Federation, as well as the informatization of healthcare activities, in accordance with the possibilities of the Federation Budget. The Canton provides funds for exercising founding rights over healthcare institutions of which it is the founder, which includes investment and current maintenance of healthcare institutions – premises, medical and non-medical equipment and means of transport, as well as the informatization of healthcare activities, in accordance with the plan and program of healthcare protection measures for the canton area determined by the cantonal government – say the Council of Ministers.

Precisely because of the increasingly difficult situation regarding the hospital's reconstruction, an appeal has been published on the official website of this institution.

- We take this opportunity to invite you to contribute to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of part of the complex of the Healthcare Institution Cantonal Hospital „Dr Irfan Ljubijankić“ Bihać, which was damaged in the fire.

The campaign we have launched aims to restore and repurpose as much of the space damaged in the fire as possible in the shortest possible time.

We ask you to support the campaign by purchasing windows that will be installed on the „Foča“ building, and the implementation of the campaign will largely depend on the funds collected – the appeal states.

The price of one window is 1,440.00 KM, and funds for this purpose can be paid into specially opened accounts at: Hypo Alpe Adria Bank d.d. account number: 306 061 249 262 65 45 for payments from Bosnia and Herzegovina, for payments from abroad to the Unicredit bank d.d. account number: IBAN:BA393389104802136713, SWIFT:UNCRBA 22

And while the Council of Ministers expertly handles interpretations of the law, it has not been explained how, for example, it accepted the Initiative of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury and appointed a delegation to lead negotiations for concluding a Credit Agreement worth 19.5 million US dollars between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Saudi Fund for Development for financing the project „Modernization of Healthcare Institutions in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton area“.

The loan repayment period is 25 years, including a five-year grace period, with an annual interest rate of 2 percent, and the loan is allocated to the Federation of BiH.  

Therefore, it is clear that some rational way of helping the hospital in Bihać could have been found without violating legal obligations.

In this context, it should be noted that Bakir Izetbegović, member of the Presidency of BiH, Denis Zvizdić, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and Fadil Novalić, Prime Minister of the FBiH, during their stay in Krajina (Bihać, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Petrovac, Cazin, Ključ), promised to provide support for important infrastructure projects, and the rehabilitation of the hospital is crucial at this moment.

We remind you that the damage from the fire that broke out on July 26, 2013, to the property of the Cantonal Hospital Dr. Irfan Ljubijankić was estimated at a total amount of more than 1.3 million KM. The Government of the FBiH, a few days later led by Nermin Nikšić, provided 500,000 KM, and the then Council of Ministers provided 100,000 KM.