IMF DEAL Dodik, Čović and Izetbegović rigged the outcome, the state is paying the price

By Rasim Belko

---

Dragan Čović's negotiation "skill": Out of 646 million, HDZ received only 41.5 million (6%).

This is the sentence from the beginning of the text that someone circulated through the media yesterday. The content of the text points to the SDA's kitchen and a kind of tribute to Bakir Izetbegović's negotiation abilities. 

If anyone is looking for a winner in the agreement between the three party leaders, Milorad Dodik, a member of the BiH Presidency who of course represented only Republika Srpska, fared the best. 

However, the sentence from the beginning and the mentioned text, although dealing with some numbers, perhaps accurate ones, show how shallow the thinking is in that SDA kitchen. 

The first question that arises is, if HDZ received 41.5 million KM, does that mean the rest goes to SDA? Is the IMF distributing money to parties to "save" our economy? 

Of course, that is not true, but in the hastily put-together text after the agreement and the blitzkrieg attempt to elevate Bakir Izetbegović, someone distributed the money intended for BiH entrepreneurs among the parties through the text. 

But that is not the only problem with yesterday's agreement. In fact, the fact that BiH will receive 330 million euros from the IMF is the only thing that can be called good from yesterday's meeting. If an arrangement with the IMF is a good thing at all!?

The fact that HDZ leader Dragan Čović attended that meeting at all and received some 62.8 million KM for the cantons he governs is quite devastating. 

We recall the statement of the Federal Prime Minister Fadil Novalić from April 9 (two days before the meeting).

"An agreement on the distribution of money from the IMF has existed for 22 years and has never been changed. It concerns the distribution of money between the entities and Brčko District. I see no reason to change it now and I am not for it. We now have seven signatures on the letter of intent we are sending to the IMF. If the cantons were also included in all of this, then we would have 17 signatures on the letter of intent." 

HDZ did not give up on its intention to be included in the negotiations on the arrangement with the IMF, and its finance ministers at the state and federal levels did not sign the Letter of Intent. 

Then Čović came to the negotiations, and the cantons he governs received about 40 million. Plus, in two cantons governed with SDA, he received about 20 million. 

Therefore, Čović has already outmaneuvered Izetbegović's "negotiating" skills on that basis. 

Given the number of Croats living in the areas of these cantons governed by HDZ alone, it will be enough for economic aid and for another election purchase by HDZ.
The international community also deserves absolute criticism here, as it endangers the stability of this country and the functioning of its system by involving ethno-leaders. 

However, that has already been sufficiently explained in several texts over the past two days.

The story of a difficult negotiation defeat makes no sense, especially in light of the already quoted statement by Federal Prime Minister Novalić. 

It is clear that Izetbegović did not stand behind his prime minister's words. We don't know why, but Novalić was absolutely right this time because involving Čović and HDZ as negotiators in the process is not good and is contrary to the practice over 22 years of arrangements with the IMF. 

What is further problematic is the fact that the same Čović has been re-involved in processes in which he has not participated before, especially since he was accommodated again this time. This is the Čović who blocks government in the Federation, in Mostar, in the state. 

An unknown author claims that Čović will have to share the money received by HNK and SBK, where SDA and HDZ are in power. The author forgets that HDZ pawns are using the current situation to demonstrate their power. 

They last demonstrated it last week by imposing a movement ban.

The decision has not been overturned, although the Speaker of the HNK Assembly, Šerif Špago, requested that it be done. 

"I propose that you annul the aforementioned Order, and that future orders regulating movement bans be adopted in coordination with the Civil Protection Staff of the Federation of BiH. I remind you that it is your constitutional and legal obligation to prepare official acts that you adopt and publish on the website of the Civil Protection and Firefighting Administration in the languages of all constituent peoples," Špago stated in his request to the leadership of the HNK Civil Protection Staff.

Neither the orders were rescinded, nor were Bosnian and Serbian languages represented. Therefore, the unknown author of the aforementioned text should know that Čović's protégés are indeed calling the shots in HNK.

An additional problem with this negotiation deal will be a new job for Novalić. 

Some cantons have already started to protest the method of distributing funds to cantons. 

The Speaker of the Assembly of the Bosniansko-podrinjski Canton Goražde, Edita Velić, stated in an interview for Dnevnik Nove BH: "If the criterion (and the only one) of the Government of the Federation of BiH for the distribution of funds from the IMF loan is the number of inhabitants, BPK Goražde will receive 2.1 million KM, which is absolutely unacceptable. Does this mean that the Government of the Federation of BiH is sending a message to its citizens living in smaller cantons that they are less valuable than citizens living in larger cantons? Does this mean that the Government of the Federation of BiH, using the 2013 Census, is sending a message that it is our own fault that there are so few of us after the war events, killings, forced displacement, and that we should therefore pay the price in 2020? If that is the case, then shame on us - but we will not allow the FBiH Government in technical mandate to cause damage to BPK Goražde."

Izetbegović has once again left Novalić holding a hot potato, and then the SDA kitchen hastily prepared a spin to blind us. 

No, unknown author, Čović was not defeated, on the contrary, in the IMF negotiation game, Dodik - Čović - Izetbegović rigged the outcome, the state was defeated.