Ramić: The FBiH Government, by increasing the budget, showed that caring for returnees is also caring for the state

(Patria) - The planned budget of the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons and Refugees this year amounts to 48.2 million KM, which is almost double the amount from the previous year, when it was 26,890,623 KM, and this is actually one of the most significant planned increases in the Budget of the Federation of BiH for 2022. Minister Edin Ramić speaks to Patria about the importance of these increased funds for the Ministry.

"I am pleased, above all, that we have finally moved the issue of the needs of returnees out of daily political events and positioned it as strategic. In previous years, SDA insisted on a significant increase in the budget for returnees; this year, it is a joint effort of all 'pro-Bosnian' parties. I hope that this approach will continue in the coming years, and that the Law on Amendments to the Law on Displaced Persons and Returnees in the Federation of BiH will be adopted, which provides for the allocation of 1.5 – 3% of budget revenues and receipts in the Federation of BiH for the needs of displaced persons and returnees.

The number of applications for our public calls is the best indicator of the real needs of people in returnee communities. Of course, the planned budget increase will further support projects coming from returnee communities. There is great interest in the construction of infrastructure, religious buildings, individual housing units, procurement of necessary equipment for entrepreneurs, and machinery for farmers. There are also requests for the needs of young people, NGOs, humanitarian organizations, individuals, etc. Our commitment is to enable every person to return to their pre-war place of residence and to provide a better standard of living for those who have been living in returnee areas for years without adequate infrastructure," says Ramić.

According to announcements, out of the total amount of current transfers, 25.4 million KM is planned for the economic code of current transfers to individuals for displaced persons and returnees. What does this actually represent, and what projects are planned?

Ramić: The range of activities to be implemented within current transfers is broad, including support for returnees in employment/self-employment, which is reflected in support for start-up projects, small, medium, and large enterprises, construction of facilities of importance to the wider social community (sports, cultural, and educational). There are also projects connecting municipalities and entities, as well as joint projects with government and non-governmental organizations.

There is also a significant increase in capital transfers from the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons and Refugees. In what way will these be realized, specifically, how much do these increases amount to, and how will the money be spent?

Capital transfers from the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons and Refugees relate to the Program – Support for the Implementation of Sustainable Return of Displaced and Exiled Persons from the Srebrenica Region.

According to the draft Budget for 2022, this transfer amounts to a total of 5 million KM, which represents an increase of 3 million compared to the previous year. This year, we plan to allocate special funds in the amount of at least 1 million KM for projects of the Srebrenica Memorial Center – Potočari, including the adaptation of facilities, as well as the renovation and construction of the necessary infrastructure in the Memorial Center, which will significantly improve the conditions for its work and development, all with the aim of strengthening the culture of remembrance and preserving historical facts and the truth about the genocide. We will use part of the funds to build missing facilities along the route of the "Path of Peace" and to arrange the area in front of the Center itself, as well as to connect the Memorial Center and the Center for Mothers of Srebrenica with a pedestrian path.

Assuming that the largest portion of funds will be directed towards development projects that will enable new jobs and retain existing ones, can you reveal details about these projects?

In addition to the program "Support for Employment/Self-Employment of Returnees in Agriculture," for which the Ministry issued 2 public calls at the end of 2021 and received over 3000 applications, where the requested aid is estimated at over 40 million KM, the Ministry continues to support young educated members of returnee families through the Program of Assistance in completing an internship through work with or without employment contracts for returnees with higher education. Also, during 2022, it is planned to continue supporting the establishment, development, and survival of small and medium-sized enterprises, crafts, and other business entities with the aim of employing/self-employing and preserving existing jobs for returnees in BiH, through the implementation of the following programs:

• Support for the development of start-up (initial) businesses for returnees;
• Program for the employment of returnees in small businesses;
• Program to support investment projects aimed at employing returnees.

As assistance to business entities that employ returnees in the conditions of the economic crisis caused by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and other unfavorable global developments, the Ministry plans to implement the following this year:

• Program – refunding of taxes and contributions for employed returnees in the Republika Srpska entity, with the aim of preserving existing jobs for returnees in the Republika Srpska entity in the conditions of the pandemic and the general economic crisis;
• Program – "Support for Returnees for Spring/Autumn Sowing."

You announced new programs that will include the youngest population – schoolchildren and pensioners with lower incomes. What exactly are these programs about?

The only categories of society that were not directly covered by our programs were the youngest schoolchildren and pensioners with minimal pensions. We have designed assistance programs for them as well, and this year, through planned public calls, they will be supported with certain benefits that will improve the quality of life for pensioners with the lowest pensions and schoolchildren starting school. This will ease their initial schooling and make the third age more comfortable.

Does the mere increase in the budget for this Ministry also mean greater care for one of the most vulnerable categories in BiH, considering that Annex 7 has never been implemented?

The Government of the Federation of BiH, by increasing the budget, showed that caring for returnees is also caring for the state. We can say that returnees are one of the significant pillars of our homeland, and we will persist in this as long as there is interest in the return of every person. However, for the sustainability of return, a multi-sectoral approach is needed, and returnees to the Republika Srpska entity should be treated the same as residents of the Federation of BiH. Any privilege granted to citizens of the Federation of BiH that does not include returnees to the Republika Srpska entity leads to registration of residence in the Federation of BiH. The rights of returnees need to be resolved systematically and not tied to residency registration but to status. Money is certainly needed, but it is not enough to solve all forms of discrimination faced by those who are "minority returnees."

In the context of current events, and given that we increasingly hear that returnees do not feel safe, can you outline plans or strategies that will pay more attention to returnees?

Unfortunately, we are a society that fosters differences in relation to others and the different. Any increase in tensions negatively affects those who are a minority in certain parts of our country. The reason we focus on the Republika Srpska entity is the presence of systemic discrimination, while in other parts of the country, returnees are treated as collateral damage of unresolved relations/competencies of different levels of government. Our constant presence in returnee communities is an encouragement and a message that institutions care about vulnerable categories. On the other hand, we do not accept the imposed opinion in our living space that returnees are a category of our society that should be helped exclusively through social benefits.

On the contrary, in returnee communities, there is certainly a significant number of people who can live wherever they want, but they have decided to stay in their places of birth. They develop their businesses, start families, and do not believe they need to go anywhere. We want to offer more to such people and to all those who have decided to stay on their properties, and the state must stand behind them. The safety of every returnee is as important as the safety of every citizen of this country.

(A.Č.Z.)