Imamović proposes rationalization: FBiH has 142 ministers, hundreds of MPs, 35 extra-budgetary funds

Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have become hostages to an army of MPs and ministers, who exist thanks to a paradoxical legal system that must be changed. The Mayor of Tuzla, Jasmin Imamović, also has his proposal on how to do it. The Patria News Agency conveys the most interesting parts of Imamović's proposal.

-No country on the planet has such a large number of MPs, prime ministers, and ministers, so this must be changed. Citizens, therefore, want change, while nationalist political elites want to maintain the existing situation to preserve their positions.

In the absence of a political force that will show the way out and lead the citizens towards it, nationalists, true to their character, are exacerbating the situation and these days, more than before, are very brazenly emphasizing differences, while destroying unity, so that by allowing such politics, we have been brought into a major political crisis. People are again not talking about their better lives, but are fearing war.

Too much time has been lost in trying to achieve full consensus on amending the Dayton Constitution of BiH. In our opinion, since the Constitution of the Federation of BiH is an integral part of the constitutional system of BiH, we should have proceeded chronologically from the beginning, step by step. First, the Constitution created by the Washington Agreement of 1994 should have been amended, and only then should we have considered the Constitution created by the Dayton Peace Agreement of 1995.

Since the Constitution of the Federation of BiH represents MORE than 50% of the constitutional system of BiH, by amending the Constitution of the FBiH, we would change MORE than 50% of the constitutional system of BiH. If this step were successful, and if this step replaced mistrust and hatred with trust and brotherhood, relations in the entire BiH, perhaps even in the entire region, would thaw. Furthermore, we believe that a radical amendment to the Constitution of the FBiH would strongly unblock the process of constitutional changes, which certain political leaders would no longer be able to stop.

Since an adequate amendment to the Constitution of the FBiH, along with the abolition of cantons, would significantly strengthen the Federation of BiH, its strength, development, and efficiency would strengthen the integrating factors in BiH.

Therefore, amending the Constitution of the Federation of BiH and using this amendment to abolish cantons, as states within a state, is absolutely necessary for strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina, for a better life for all citizens in the cities and municipalities of the Federation of BiH, for a more functional state, which would enable more effective achievement of the goal of economically sustainable development and a better quality of life for citizens.

The Federation has 142 ministers, 142 ministry secretaries, more than 300 assistant ministers, about 300 advisors, as many as 11 prime ministers, and several hundred MPs.

The Federation has 35 extra-budgetary funds (1 pension fund, 11 employment funds, 11 health funds, 11 road funds, and one Highway Fund). The existence of cantons has led to cities and municipalities in the FBiH having the lowest revenue from VAT in Europe (in FBiH it is 8.5%, in RS it is 18.5%, and the European average is from 20 to 35%). We want the FBiH budget to be twice as large, to have five extra-budgetary funds instead of 35, which would result in multi-million savings in the areas for which the funds were established. We want citizens in municipalities to receive twice as much funds from VAT, which would enable faster development of municipalities and cities. We could list the misfortunes caused by the existence of cantons as states for a long time here, and the benefits everyone would have in case of the abolition of cantons as states within the state of BiH.

The proposal for amending the Constitution of the FBiH is simple:

-Maintain cantons as a constitutional category and as territories. This would avoid discussions about borders, territories, etc.

-Abolish legislative, executive, and judicial power in cantons and distribute almost all previous cantonal competencies between the federal and local levels of government. Judicial power, police, higher education, etc., would go to the federal level, primary education, relevant inspections, etc., to the municipal level, and so on.

-The thirty-five extra-budgetary funds should be reduced to five federal extra-budgetary funds, and instead of 35 management boards, consequently, have five management boards, in which the Constitution would guarantee equal national and regional representation of all members of the management structure of these funds. Therefore, each of the 10 cantons would have to have its representatives, and the headquarters of all funds would be distributed in different cities of the FBiH.

-The Government of the FBiH should be expanded by at least ten ministers for each of the ten cantons, as well as by the number of ministers necessary to ensure constitutional and legal guarantees of equal national and regional representation within the government.

The final result would be a more economical and functional organization. The budget of the Federation of BiH would be twice as large, the budgets of cities and municipalities twice as large, and the funds of extra-budgetary funds far, incomparably larger than today. All of this would free up a sufficient amount of funds for a better life for citizens.

Such an amendment to the Constitution of the Federation of BiH would serve to satisfy all citizens of the Federation of BiH, regardless of their nationality and regardless of the city or municipality in which they live.