Komšić on financial problems: Abolishing the capital means abolishing the state of BiH

During today's emergency session of the Sarajevo City Council, which discussed the threat to the constitutional position of the City of Sarajevo, Mayor Ivo Komšić said in a statement to the media that the City of Sarajevo, as the capital of the state, the FBiH, and the seat of the Sarajevo Canton, has been placed in a doubly difficult situation, reports the Patria news agency.  

"In addition to the financial problem the City is facing, the constitutional position of this institution is also threatened. If you withhold financial resources for the functioning of the capital, you are indirectly extinguishing the functions of the City of Sarajevo as the capital of the state, the FBiH, and the seat of the Canton," Komšić emphasized.

The Mayor recalled that, according to the Dayton Constitution, Sarajevo is the capital of BiH, according to the federal constitution, the capital of the FBiH, and according to the cantonal constitution, it is the seat of the Canton, with the provision in the Constitution of Sarajevo Canton that the Canton is obliged to finance the City of Sarajevo as its seat.

"We do not have a law on the capital city, and I believe we are the only country in Europe without such a law. On the other hand, Sarajevo Canton is the only canton that has not adopted a law on local self-government. These two laws would be crucial for the City of Sarajevo to perform its constitutional functions," Komšić said.

The Mayor noted that the state and the Federation have never allocated funds for the City of Sarajevo.

"From the establishment of the City until today, that is, until April last year, the Canton was the sole financier of the City of Sarajevo. With the entry into force of the federal law on the allocation of public revenues, the rights of the City of Sarajevo to local self-government were violated. The Federation of BiH took over the financing of all local self-government units, but excluded the City of Sarajevo, also a local self-government unit, from financing."

"At the same time, the Government of Sarajevo Canton informed us that their obligation to finance any local self-government unit in the Canton, including the City of Sarajevo, had ceased. The consequence is that we have been in a vacuum for over a year," Komšić said.

"The City has survived despite everything. We managed to finance ourselves from our own revenues, but this is unsustainable. The grant we received from the Canton, since 2013 when I became mayor, amounted to 5.5 million KM. These are very small funds for a capital city. I am ashamed when I go abroad and mention that figure when asked about the budget of the City of Sarajevo," the Mayor emphasized, adding that the issue is not about funds for financing the functions of the City of Sarajevo.

The Mayor believes this is a political issue:

"Because if even these small funds are withheld, the question arises whether those who are denying us money actually want Sarajevo to exist as the capital of the state at all. Abolishing the city in this indirect way is essentially abolishing the state of BiH," Komšić stressed.

According to Mayor Komšić, the right solution is systemic financing of the City of Sarajevo: first, the adoption of a state law on the capital city, which would establish the state's obligation to finance the City; then, an amendment to the Federal Law on the Allocation of Public Revenues, where the City of Sarajevo must be included with its percentage, just as municipalities and cities have been; and finally, reaching an agreement with Sarajevo Canton on financing those functions that the Canton has transferred to the City, the City Administration announced.