NO MORE PRIVATE RIDES: Has the Misuse of Official Vehicles Finally Come to an End?

(Patria) - An initiative by Saša Magazinović, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which tasked the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina with adopting an amendment to the Rulebook on Procurement Conditions and the Method of Using Official Vehicles in Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina within 30 days, was adopted last year.

This initiative, if implemented, would mark vehicles with a sticker or in another way to help traffic participants and citizens clearly see that it is an official vehicle and which institution it belongs to, all with the aim of preventing the misuse of these vehicles.

Magazinović claims that BiH institutions have hundreds of official vehicles used for private purposes, thereby damaging the budget, citing data that this damage could be between 5,000 and 10,000 BAM per vehicle annually if the tank is filled twice a month and the vehicle is maintained.

„As far as I know, the Council of Ministers is working on it,“ said Magazinović.

He clarified that this amendment would not apply to vehicles of certain officials, nor to vehicles of the Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA).
Following this, officials from lower levels have also launched a similar initiative. 

Thus, Adis Arapović, a federal parliamentarian, due to numerous examples of misuse of official vehicles for private purposes, a series of documented evidence by the Audit Office that it is a very common practice to use official vehicles irresponsibly and irrationally for non-business or unofficial needs, and due to the well-known practice of using official vehicles for party, pre-election, and similar purposes, marking vehicles is the best way to prevent irresponsible use of public property, as well as to increase citizens' trust in the use of public resources by top officials, holders of public functions, and managers.

„Wasting citizens' money, especially in these difficult times, must finally be stopped. Today, I sent an initiative to the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the development of a Rulebook on the visual marking of official vehicles owned by institutions and government bodies in the FBiH, as well as companies majority-owned by the Government of the FBiH. Vehicles should be marked with visible stickers and numbering or in another adequate way. The adoption of the Rulebook should be completed by March 31, 2021,“ says Arapović.

Draško Stanivuković, the mayor of Banja Luka, in December 2020, sent a request that all official cars be brought to the mayor's premises. 

- All keys to over 50 official cars were returned at 4 p.m., at my request, to the mayor's premises.  No one else has the right to use official cars for private purposes, as was the case before. Over 70 percent of official cars were not in the parking lot in front of the City Administration after working hours for years. 
We will make a decision that all official cars must be marked, and it is ready, and a new rulebook on the use of these vehicles is ready. Among those keys are cars worth over 100,000 BAM, which we will sell, because there are more priority things for the citizens of Banja Luka. We must put an end to wasteful behavior, and this is just the first step in that direction; tonight we are making a series of decisions - wrote Stanivuković on Facebook.