Hodžić: Closing mines in BiH is not an act of transition, but an act of capitulation

By Kenan Hodžić

The closure of mines in Bosnia and Herzegovina should not be a matter of political will, international pressure, or PR campaigns by authorities who, under the guise of energy transition, want to cover up their own negligence and inability to conduct energy policy.

Instead of closing mines, BiH needs restructuring of the mining sector, technical improvement of production, increased productivity, and clear plans for energy transition that rely on real resources, not on shaky
strategies written according to directives that have no basis in local capacities.

Closing mines without a comprehensive social strategy means a direct blow to local communities, economic impoverishment of regions, and further societal stratification. Although plans for retraining the workforce and building solar power plants on reclaimed land are being implemented, experience shows that these are only occasional projects without systemic support, not a comprehensive transitional
strategy.

At a time when the federal government boasts about its "green ambitions," it simultaneously announces a new wave of energy price increases and a blow to citizens' living standards.

Prices are rising, while the public witnesses daily political performances about a supposed sustainable future. Instead of concrete measures that would facilitate citizens' access to decentralized energy sources through solar panels, energy communities, or subsidies for heat pumps, we have a constant weakening of energy sovereignty. The government is not implementing a transition but improvisation, while citizens pay the bill.

If various countries across Europe admit that they cannot rely solely on renewable sources at this moment, why is there an insistence in BiH, which has coal reserves and existing capacities, on their rapid shutdown or abandoning Tuzla 7 without adequate alternatives? Is it known that there are more modern filters on thermal power plants?

It is illusory to believe that renewable sources will replace energy from thermal power plants in the short term. Replacing just three thermal power units (Tuzla 3 and 4, Kakanj 5) requires the construction of 2000 MW from renewable sources.

There are indeed serious problems in the mining sector. The articles by A. Muhamedbegović are interesting, as they precisely diagnose the real situation. We will highlight some of them here. Low productivity, excessive administration, technical neglect, and union conflicts. Miners have become hostages of unproductive administrations, machinery that is newly purchased and already destroyed, and management that is not held accountable for consequences.

However, miners should not be blamed for these problems, but rather the political structures that have used mines as electoral spoils for decades, hired party cadres, destroyed machinery, and blocked every attempt at modernization.

Elektroprivreda BiH has invested more than 500 million KM in mines since 2009, but without strategic management, a good portion of that money has been wasted. However, this is not an argument for closure, but for responsible restructuring with clearly defined goals, production plans, risk management, and social protection for workers.

When geopolitical reality, instability of supply routes, and the uneven European approach to energy reform are added to this, it is clear that closing mines is not only unwise but potentially dangerous. BiH's energy security must be based on controlled supplementation, which simultaneously takes into account economic sustainability, technological reality, and social justice.

At this moment, closing mines in BiH would not be an act of transition, but an act of capitulation. At a time when citizens are looking for ways to avoid energy poverty, and the state to strengthen its sovereignty and resilience, closing mines would mean favoring market monopolies and further undermining energy security. Therefore, a change in narrative is urgently needed: transition must not be an excuse for exploitation, but an opportunity for honest transformation.

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Kenan Hodžić is a senior assistant at the University of Sarajevo - Faculty of Criminal Justice, Criminology and Security Studies