Mehmedović calls for external audit of Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, criticizes "Trojka" for national imbalance in institutions to the detriment of Bosniaks

(Patria) - Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Šemsudin Mehmedović held a press conference today to discuss the distribution of funds by the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (UIO BiH) and national representation in public institutions.

Mehmedović submitted an initiative to the House of Representatives of the PS BiH requesting the establishment of an independent external audit firm to conduct an audit of the operations and the collection and distribution of revenues generated by the Authority during the period from 2017-2023.

He states that funds are not being distributed adequately, in line with the performance of Republika Srpska, the Federation of BiH, and Brčko District.

"The financial report from July 2023 shows that citizens' savings in the FBiH amounted to 10.8 billion KM, while in banks in RS, it was only 2.4 billion KM. Citizens in the Federation of BiH have four times the amount in savings deposits. Considering that RS has 34.4 percent, Brčko 3 percent, and FBiH 62.05 percent, it is more than obvious that the distribution is being carried out to the detriment of the FBiH and in favor of the RS," he said.

The only and last external audit of indirect revenues was conducted for the year 2006.

"I remind you that there are over 250 million KM in undistributed funds from road tolls in the sub-account of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the Steering Board has never established a final methodology for the distribution of revenues intended for the construction of highways in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The leaders of the 'Trojka' parties agreed at a meeting in Laktaši to distribute these funds in such a way that 160 million KM belongs to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 90 million KM to Republika Srpska, which is contrary to the decision of the Steering Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority from 2018, which stipulated that the settlement would be carried out upon the establishment of the final methodology. According to any objective parameter, such as fuel consumption and GDP, all 250 million should belong to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Due to all the aforementioned reasons, I believe that the Steering Board is obliged to implement the law and respect the rule of law, and that it must, as soon as possible, take all necessary measures to engage an independent external audit firm that will, for the period from 2018 to 2023, conduct an audit of the operations of the Indirect Taxation Authority, as well as an audit of the collection and distribution of revenues that the Authority carried out in those five years," said Mehmedović.

Mehmedović then spoke about national representation in state institutions in Mostar, Sarajevo, and Banja Luka. He pointed out that there are 800 fewer Bosniaks than their share according to the 2013 census. In this context, he criticized the work of the Council of Ministers of BiH.

"I demand that the ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH ensure adequate national representation. After more than a year, the situation in BiH has not improved, but has worsened. Instead of stopping the trend, the results of the work of the 'Trojka' parties have led to a situation that is much worse than in April 2023," believes Mehmedović.