HDZ has been blocking public administration reform in the Federation for years, and the 'trojka' has handed them the state-level Office as well!

(Patria) - The Council of Ministers of BiH is not making key decisions, or rather, it is not fulfilling its tasks from the 14 priorities, the adoption of which opens the path of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the European Union.

Although the parties that make up the 'trojka' (SDP, NIP, and Our Party) often emphasize that BiH's path to the EU has been accelerated by their coming to power, the facts say otherwise. Through the policy of compromise, which they skillfully promote in the media, they have actually appeased Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović, and they have continued this by handing over the Public Administration Reform Office in BiH to HDZ, appointing Darko Kasap as coordinator.

We remind you that the 'trojka' boasted that they finally achieved parity of 12-12-12 in public enterprises and agencies at the state level, but later, as in the case of this Office, they appointed Serbs or Croats to the leading positions of these institutions.

This Office is significant for public administration reform, without which BiH will also hardly become a member of the European Union, and HDZ has long shown its stepmotherly attitude towards this important task of Bosnia and Herzegovina at lower levels of government.

There is a lot of work ahead for Bosnia and Herzegovina when it comes to public administration reform. Although the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Borjana Krišto, spoke about it in her exposé, she never specified concrete steps. On the other hand, HDZ BiH, through former Minister of Finance Jelka Milićević, obstructed this process.

Namely, the Public Administration Institute, which is part of the Federal Ministry of Justice, is responsible, among other things, for the organization and improvement of the work of administrative bodies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, out of 14 systematized job positions, only three were filled, and not a single job position was filled in the Public Administration Reform Coordination Sector.

The Public Administration Institute previously pointed out to Patria that despite numerous requests from the Public Administration Institute, the Federal Ministry of Finance has never registered the Public Administration Institute in the Register of Budget Users, nor has it acted on any conclusion of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordering that ministry to secure funds for the staffing of the Institute.

Incidentally, the European Commission, in its Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina's application for membership in the European Union of May 29, 2019, listed public administration reform as one of the fourteen conditions.

"Complete the necessary steps in public administration reform with the aim of improving the overall functioning of public administration by ensuring a professional and depoliticized civil service and a coordinated approach to policy-making throughout the country," the European Commission's Opinion states.

And, there is a constant blockade of the public administration reform process in the Federation, and as things stand, it could happen at the state level as well.

(A. Čorbo-Zećo)