Where is the money?

Swedish Ambassador to BiH Anders Hagelberg visited Mostar last week to award certificates to the first generation of students from BiH in the field of software development Pipestres.

Hagelberg used his visit to Mostar to issue strong criticism to local authorities due to delays in the construction of the collector, for which Sweden is the donor.

- The non-commissioning of the Mostar collectors is very frustrating for Swedish taxpayers who have invested 16 million KM in this project so far - said the Swedish Ambassador.

Although this problem was not the reason for the ambassador's visit to Mostar, he took the opportunity to express his indignation that the commissioning of the collectors is ten months late.

- This is the money of Swedish taxpayers, and for the money that Sweden has invested, of course, they want to see results. Local politicians must engage urgently to complete the work on this project - the Swedish Ambassador was clear.

Ambassador Hagelberg had no doubt that the works should have already been completed and that the pre-cleaners should have been operational.

- It is very unfair to Swedish taxpayers, whose money has been invested, that it is standing idle and has not been launched. If we enter into a project and invest money, we expect the partner to complete the work on time.

Sweden has already contributed 16 million KM to this project, and when we made the investment, we expect everyone else to do their part - concluded the Swedish Ambassador.

After Ambassador Hagelberg's criticism, Mostar Mayor Ljubo Bešlić tried to find excuses for the delays, but was not convincing enough. At one point, Bešlić sounded as if Mostar had donated money to Sweden, not the other way around.

The Mayor of Mostar clearly did not take seriously what the Swedish Ambassador was talking about. BiH is a country where everything comes down to some improvisation, while in the case of Sweden, it is a country where ministers have to resign for buying a chocolate bar with an official card or when the police stop you after one glass of wine.

However, the Swedish Ambassador's criticism directed at the Mayor of Mostar cannot and should not be viewed solely as a Swedish-Mostar story.

This is about something much more serious, something that the Swedish Ambassador has only just initiated.

From the war until today, billions of KM in donations from foreign countries have been pumped into this country, from which numerous organizations and individuals have benefited, and very often those for whom the money was intended did not benefit.

BiH was a bottomless pit, but time is slowly changing, because this is no longer the post-war year of 1996 when foreigners turned a blind eye and remained silent about various improvisations. 23 years have passed since the war, and the time has come to account for every mark spent.

The Swedish Ambassador has broken the ice, but we should expect other representatives of foreign countries to start demanding accountability and responsibility for the funds spent very soon.

The time has come to ask, as they say in Dalmatia, where is the money?

Someone will have to provide the answers.