Young people dissatisfied with the KS Government's approach: It's our money too, why did we get the least subsidies

(Patria) - A group of young people who qualified for housing subsidies gathered in front of the KS Government today, protesting the lowest subsidy amount ever of 4,800 KM, despite talk of an amount of 12,000 KM.

During the protest, an invitation for a meeting arrived from KS Prime Minister Nihad Uk, but the young people said they would make a decision, given that they had previously requested meetings and Prime Minister Uk had ignored the request. A new protest is scheduled for Thursday at 12 PM in front of the KS Government.

"Activities for planning the allocation of funds for the subsidy of the first property purchase for young people in KS began in March 2023. The amount of 500,000 KM was the planned budget for this purpose. The time frame between the two calls (2022 and 2023) is an incredible 15 months, which is a longer period compared to public calls in previous years. In this regard, as well as due to the abolition of the residency criterion of at least 3 years in KS and the abolition of the property purchase price limit, it could be assumed that the number of applicants would be much higher compared to the number of applications in last year's public calls. Why did the Government not foresee/analyze this in accordance with the above? Either it is incapable of foreseeing it, or it intentionally did not want to. It was clear to everyone that the number of applicants would be higher," stated the dissatisfied young citizens of KS.

Uk misled the youth (Photo: Patria)

"With this public call and the allocated funds of 5.5 million KM, the KS Government has not created an environment for young people to stay in BiH, because with this public call it approved, and the intention to distribute funds in the amount of 4,800 KM to all applicants on the final list, it has misled young people and put them in a discriminatory position compared to public calls over the past 7 years," state the representatives of the youth.

Upon reviewing previous public calls and the final lists for fund allocation, the following was established:

- In 2023, under Minister Bojan Bošnjak, it is planned to pay 4,800 KM per candidate (1141 of them). The budget for 2023 was 1,438,896,538 KM. The timeframe for the public call was 15 months.
Property purchase price without limit.

- In 2022, under Minister Enver Hadžiahmetović, 10,000 KM was paid per candidate (511 of them). The budget for 2022 was 1,220,787,840 KM. The timeframe for the public call was 9 months. Property purchase price max 180,000 KM.

- In 2021, under Minister Enver Hadžiahmetović, 10,000 KM (8.64 million KM) was paid per candidate (864 of them). The KS budget for 2021 was 974,200,500 KM. The timeframe for the public call was 16 months. Property purchase price max 150,000 KM.

- In 2020, under Minister Faruk Kapidžić, 7,000 KM was paid per candidate (276 of them). The KS budget for 2020 was 1,114,597,584 KM, with 0.17% of the budget paid for this purpose. The timeframe for the public call was 11 months. Property purchase price max 100,000 KM.

- In 2019, under Minister Damir Filipović, 10,000 KM was paid per candidate (461 of them). The KS budget for 2019 was 941,762,186 KM. The timeframe for the public call was 12 months. Property purchase price without limit.

- In 2018, under Minister Čedomir Lukić, 10,000 KM was paid per candidate (330 of them). The KS budget for 2018 was 769,080,000 KM. The timeframe for the public call was 16.5 months. Property purchase price without limit.

"It's a matter of principle, does the KS Government want to mislead young people or not? What message are they sending to young people? What message are they sending to those who will apply for this type of public call in 2024 or next year? Young people are clearly a burden to this Government, because they get nothing from young people, they are just a 'cost'," explain the representatives of the youth, and continue:

"The Sarajevo Canton should be a generator of positive changes and an example for other cantons. Instead of positively viewing the fact that over 1000 young people applied for the public call who want to stay in KS, in BiH, and who guarantee this with a 5-year contract, the Government is retreating, and instead of increasing the subsidy amount compared to previous years as promised by both the minister and the current Prime Minister Nihad Uk, the Government decides to pay the lowest amount in years. The environment of legal and social security has been violated here. The norm must be encouraging, not destructive. Instead of saying from the start – everyone who meets the criteria will receive a subsidy, otherwise the Prime Minister emphasizes the story – let 500 remain, and all other candidates on the final list are irrelevant, because we don't care about them, let them seek happiness elsewhere. We hear from the KS Government that there is no money. The budget for 2024 provides 600 million KM for salaries of budget users, which is 40% of the budget, 100 million KM for subsidies to public companies, 75 million KM for loan repayments, while for this public call, 0.5 million KM is planned. Is it possible that out of 600 million KM of debt, adequate funds for young people are not foreseen? Is it possible that in a budget of 1.5 billion KM, there isn't even 1% for solving the housing issues of young people?"

"Prime Minister Uk's announcement from October 5, 2023, reads: 'This year too, KS will subsidize the purchase of apartments for young people. We will soon announce a public call with a planned subsidy of 5.5 million KM. We will consider the option of increasing the individual subsidy, which has so far been 10,000 KM.' – Prime Minister, you have misled us. Prime Minister, we are not looking for excuses, mutual accusations among government members, or justifications, because the government voted unanimously for the criteria and unanimously set a linear amount for fund allocation, so take responsibility to honor your criteria and set an amount worthy of a young person who is solving their housing issue for the first time, because there is money in the budget. We, the 1,300 young candidates and families who responded to this public call, have paid several hundred thousand KM in property tax, over 1 million KM in notary fees, 130,000 KM in court fees, and 325,000 KM for property appraisal by purchasing apartments in KS," state the representatives of the youth of KS in their announcement.