New Budget Item: KM 41,927,000 for Economic Damage Mitigation

(Patria) - The Council of Ministers of BiH has determined the Draft Law on the Budget of BiH Institutions and International Obligations of BiH for 2020, which takes into account the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Finance and Treasury will, with the accepted corrections, submit the Draft Budget to the Presidency of BiH, which is responsible for proposing it.

Total revenues, receipts, and financing of BiH institutions in 2020 amount to KM 996,000,000, which is also the total expenditure, an increase of KM 30,000,000 or 3% compared to the 2019 Budget. Servicing of the foreign debt amounts to KM 807,552,931, which is KM 18.2 million or 2% less than the previous year. 

Current expenditures are planned at KM 868,345,000, which is KM 718,000 or 0.1% less than in 2019.

Funds for mitigating economic damage are planned in the total amount of KM 41,927,000 as a new item in the Budget, of which KM 14,747,000 is for direct transfers and KM 27,180,000 is for the current reserve.

Funds for holding local elections in BiH are planned in the Budget at KM 4,227,000.

The item for current transfers and grants has increased by KM 12,794,000 or 34% compared to 2019, amounting to KM 50,874,000. These funds are intended, among other things, for mitigating the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, in accordance with the conclusion of the Presidency of BiH. 

In order to secure funds for financing the mitigation of economic damage, total travel expenses in 2020 are planned at KM 11,259,000, which is KM 5,870,000 or 34% less than the 2019 Budget. Travel expenses have been reduced by 38% compared to the Draft Law on the Budget of BiH Institutions and International Obligations of BiH for 2020, which was adopted at the 6th extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers of BiH, held on March 24, 2020.

Expenditures for telephone and postal services are planned at KM 7,040,000, which is KM 1,159,000 or 14% less than the 2019 budget. Expenditures for energy and utility services in 2020 are planned at KM 17,151,000, which is KM 1,428,000 or 8% less than the 2019 Budget. Expenditures for the procurement of materials are planned at KM 33,906,000, which represents a decrease of KM 2,641,000 or 7% compared to 2019. 

Expenditures for transportation and fuel services are planned at KM 10,530,000, which is KM 1,496,000 or 12% less than the 2019 Budget. These expenditures are 7.8% lower than in the Draft Budget Law that was determined in March of this year.

Capital expenditures in 2020 are planned in the total amount of KM 40,490,000, which represents a decrease of KM 14,134,000 or 26% compared to the 2019 Budget.
Procurement of buildings is planned at KM 13,562,000, which is KM 6,616,000 or 33% less than the 2019 Budget. Procurement of equipment in the 2020 Budget is planned at KM 17,275,000, which is KM 7,930,000 or 31% less than the 2019 Budget.

Reconstruction and investment maintenance in the 2020 Budget are planned at KM 2,203,000, which is KM 982,000 or 31% less than the 2019 Budget.
Due to the limitation of total public expenditures and revenues of BiH, and in order to secure funds for the implementation of priority activities, the financing of part of the multi-year projects has been postponed to 2020, in the total amount of KM 19.2 million.