Tenant in one's own country: What is the cost-effectiveness of renting a twice smaller space at a higher price?

At the last session held in Sarajevo, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina made a decision to lease business premises in the Energoinvest building.

The move from the current premises on Alipašina Street, which the Government has been using since 1996 and which are owned by the SDP BiH, had been discussed for some time, and now the decision has finally been made.

The Government justifies the decision to move to a new location with better financial conditions, but when looking at the figures, a clear conclusion emerges that the Government will work in far worse conditions in the future.

For the lease of premises in the Energoinvest building, the FBiH Government will allocate 36,000 KM per month, while it paid 41,000 KM for the lease of space in the SDP building.

However, in Alipašina Street, the Government used 4,200 square meters of space and 38 parking spaces, while in the Energoinvest building it will have at its disposal less space – 2,054 square meters and 10 parking spaces.

Simple math shows that the Government previously had to allocate 10.65 KM per square meter, while from now on it will pay 17.55 KM per square meter.

The question remains open as to how the Government will accommodate the entire administration in twice as little space, especially since there have been complaints that they work in inadequate and cramped conditions. Moreover, one should not forget the fact that a certain amount of financial resources will need to be invested in renovating the premises in the Energoinvest building.

After the Government made the decision to move from the premises owned by the Social Democratic Party of BiH to the Energoinvest building, justified doubts about the Government's intentions have emerged.

Did the Government even consider the financial conditions, or was the goal simply to leave the SDP premises and stop paying rent to this political party?

Since 1996, the Government has been allocating an average of 3 million KM annually for the use of premises in the SDP building, meaning that over 21 years of use, it has allocated over 60 million KM.

The only thing that seems justified is to ask how it is possible that in 20 years no government has had the will and knowledge to secure funds for building its own building, so as not to be a tenant in its own country.