Proposed Sarajevo Canton Budget is 1.6 Billion KM, Half Allocated to Salaries and Benefits for 16,000 Public Sector Employees

(Patria) - The Sarajevo Canton Assembly is considering the Draft Budget for 2026 at today's session, and in line with planned revenues of 1,609,110,744 KM, the expenditures of the Draft Budget for 2026 have also been determined. The introductory remarks before the break were delivered by the Minister of Finance of the Sarajevo Canton, Afan Kalamujić, and the session will continue with the deputies' discussion at 13:30.

More than 272 million KM are planned for capital projects, and 186 million KM for transfers.

The Minister of Finance of the Sarajevo Canton, Afan Kalamujić, explained to the deputies of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly that salaries and employee benefit costs and employer contributions are planned by each budget user in accordance with valid legal and implementation acts in force, and within the approved upper expenditure limits adopted by the Government.

The gross salary estimate anticipates a base of 400 KM planned for salary payments in 2026. The number of employees according to the Draft Budget of the Sarajevo Canton for 2026 is 16,126, and the actual number of employees according to tax cards for October 2025 is 15,844.

The Draft Budget of the Sarajevo Canton for 2026 plans an amount of 831,933,946 KM for gross salaries and salary benefits, employee benefit costs, and contributions, of which 805,310,122 KM relates to source 10 (budgetary funds).

"I note that this amount includes the gross salaries and salary benefits, employee benefit costs, and contributions of the University of Sarajevo, amounting to 185,934,530 KM, of which 164,269,166 KM relates to source 10 (budgetary funds)," stated the minister.

Expenditures for materials, small inventory, and services are also planned in the amount of 183,040,533 KM, in line with the needs of budget users.

This expenditure group includes travel expenses, energy expenses, communication and utility expenses, procurement of materials and small inventory, transportation and fuel expenses, rental of property, equipment, and intangible assets, current maintenance expenses, insurance expenses, banking services, and payment transaction services, and contracted and other special services.

Significant expenditures within this expenditure group include expenses for materials and services of UNSA, which are necessary for the normal functioning of higher education institutions, amounting to 36,614,436 KM, of which 13,372,078 KM are budgetary funds (source 10).

Current transfers are planned as a priority in accordance with legal obligations and the realistic possibilities of the Draft Budget of the Sarajevo Canton for 2026, and amount to 186,934,197 KM.

Expenditures for loan obligations and debt repayments (interest and repayments) are planned in the amount of 96,239,160 KM. The amount of expenditures for loan obligations and debt repayments is calculated based on repayment plans for foreign and domestic loans, as well as estimates for planned borrowing in 2026.

Capital transfers and expenditures consist of capital transfers and expenditures for the procurement of fixed assets, which constitute the capital budget of the Sarajevo Canton and amount to 272,976,608 KM.

Multi-year capital investments of the Sarajevo Canton shown in the Draft Budget of the Sarajevo Canton for 2026 amount to 131,061,694 KM and are financed from several sources.

From budgetary funds, it is 11,520,350 KM, own funds, earmarked funds, donations, and transfers amount to 6,079,473 KM, deferred funds 35,431,054 KM, receipts 4,307,112 KM, and foreign loans (planned consumption amount in 2026) 73,723,705 KM.

The current reserve includes funds for unforeseen purposes for which no funds are planned in the budget or for purposes for which it is found during the year that insufficient funds have been allocated, as they could not be foreseen during budget planning. The funds planned for the current reserve include: the regular current reserve and a portion of funds for the execution of court judgments in accordance with the Law on Enforcement Procedure (interest and lawyer costs).

The accumulated deficit is planned from budgetary funds in the amount of 32,700,000 KM in accordance with the Law on Budgets in FBiH.