Karamatić does not pay RTV subscription in BiH, but attends conference on supporting public broadcasters

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Chairman of the Committee on Transport and Communications of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PSBiH) Momčilo Novaković and deputy chairmen of the Committee on Foreign and Trade Policy, Customs, Transport and Communications of the House of Peoples of the PSBiH Sead Kadić and Mario Karamatić form the PSBiH delegation participating in a two-day conference in Tirana on supporting public media services in the Western Balkan countries.

The conference will also feature the presentation and launch of a project titled "Technical Support for Public Media Services in the Western Balkans," supported and funded by the European Union (EU).

According to the conference organizers in Tirana, the project aims to support the reform of public media services in six countries of the region towards their professional development and strengthening to produce more diverse, independent, and responsible programming.

The conference will be an opportunity to address questions on how to ensure the political and financial independence of public media services in the Western Balkans, how to initiate internal reforms that will enable the achievement of the highest professional standards and efficiency in the work of public media services in the Western Balkans, and how, through cooperation and co-production, to improve program content in public media services in the region.

During the conference, a report on the financing models of public media services in the region, the independence of their management structures, viewership research, and editorial guidelines will be presented.

The participation of delegate Mario Karamatić in the delegation has particularly attracted public attention, given his known stance on not paying the RTV subscription, which should be a legal obligation for every individual in the country, especially for representatives who are well-paid from the state budget.

Delegate of HSS BiH in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Mario Karamatić, publicly stated two years ago as a guest on the show Zabranjeni forum on TV Pink that he does not pay the RTV subscription, and urged viewers to continue paying their contributions regularly so that he can continue to receive regular income.

When asked by the show's host if he pays the RTV subscription, Karamatić replied: Of course not, why would I pay it.

A viewer named Elvis from Ilidža called in and stated that it is a disgrace for a person who sits in the House of Peoples and has a high income not to pay the RTV subscription.

- Elvis from Ilidža certainly did not vote for HSS or for me. I just want to tell the gentleman to continue paying all contributions regularly so that I can have a regular income – Karamatić concluded.

This is just another example of numerous inconsistencies in the functioning of BiH state bodies. A delegate who publicly boasts about not paying the RTV subscription at the expense of taxpayers travels to Tirana for a conference on improving the Public RTV Service.

The two-day meeting in Tirana, which will also be attended by officials from the EU and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), will conclude with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation on the technical support project for public media services in the Western Balkan countries.