Hadžibajrić: Our Government is our stepmother who treats municipalities as if they don't exist

(Patria) - Regarding the decision of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the distribution of money to municipalities and cities in the fight against coronavirus, the mayor of Stari Grad Municipality, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, said that we have long been witnesses of the shamelessly unjust attitude of the FBiH Government towards lower levels of government, especially local communities.

"Our Government is our stepmother who treats municipalities as if they don't exist. Such a distribution of funds should not surprise us, considering that those who sit in the FBiH Government actually know nothing about ordinary citizens because citizens cannot reach them. They can only watch them on television, where – if they had any self-respect, some should never appear.
The Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo will not receive a single convertible mark from the FBiH Government to fight the coronavirus, to help our citizens, or to support businesses. I don't know what criterion prevailed in making such a decision, but caring for the people certainly wasn't it. Those who are the first point of contact for the people and whose doors are the only ones open to them care for the people, and those are the municipalities and mayors. This is best seen in this crisis, because while the Government was figuring things out and starting to act, municipalities already had prescribed measures and assistance for their citizens.

Our Municipality has so far allocated 500,000 convertible marks as assistance for the socially vulnerable. We have exempted businesses from paying rent for business premises, parking, public areas, and reduced fees for placing advertisements. These measures have so far cost our budget 900,000 KM, which we have renounced in order to prevent layoffs," said Hadžibajrić.

Considering that the Municipality of Stari Grad has the smallest budget compared to the four city municipalities, it is truly unclear to us what criteria the Government followed.

"Is it the same criterion by which you allocate 400,000 KM to the Canton of Sarajevo, and 300,000 KM to the Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo? Surely people in other city municipalities are not affected, there are no infected people, the economy is not suffering? I want to emphasize one more thing. The Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo is the cultural-historical core and the most visited tourist destination in Sarajevo, and perhaps in the entire BIH. This Municipality
lives from tourism, which currently does not exist. All hotel and other accommodation facilities, restaurants, and other establishments are closed and empty. How do you expect us to help these business people? Should we give up on them? If we direct all our available resources to dealing with the consequences of the coronavirus and helping citizens, we will very soon find ourselves in a situation where we cannot help anyone else. But, you are obviously not interested in that, so you shamelessly excluded the oldest municipality and the most visited tourist destination from the distribution of funds. Remember that the next time you walk through Baščaršija and see closed shops and hotels. I want to tell citizens and businesses that we will direct our last atom of strength to dealing with this crisis and helping everyone who needs it. Our capabilities are not as great as those of the FBiH Government and the state level, but we will fight to find a way to secure additional funds.

The only honorable and moral thing to do at this moment would be to annul the shameless decision of the FBiH Government on the distribution of funds and distribute the funds fairly. But, if you stick to your decision, we will demand a review of the decision before the competent judicial bodies, not because of us, but because of the citizens from whom you are taking away what belongs to them," added Hadžibajrić.