SDA proposed reducing salaries back in 2008

Adil Osmanović, Vice-President of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), in an open interview for the Patria News Agency (NAP), commented on the recent events in Bosnia and Herzegovina starting from February 7, when the buildings of institutions in four major cities in the country were set on fire.

Osmanović, commenting on citizens' plenums, stated that they have the right to propose and present suggestions, opinions, and programs if they can reach them, but that these proposals should be submitted to legislative and executive bodies.

- In my opinion, that is where all their activity ends, with the possibility, of course, to continue monitoring the implementation of those programs. Everything must be done in accordance with the Constitution, and everything must be brought within legal frameworks. Here, someone wants to confuse a plenum with an assembly. Elected representatives and assemblies are, in fact, the voice of the people, and they are the ones who elect governments in the name of the people, and they are the ones who pass laws and adopt reports in the name of the people. The plenum, in my opinion, is now just a group of citizens that can propose and demand the adoption of their programs, projects, etc. – Osmanović says.

Elmedin Konaković recently stated that the plenum should propose a new government, and that SDA is not considering participating in the government of Sarajevo Canton. Osmanović sees such a statement as a reaction to the extremely complex and difficult situation.

- We have all been put in a very unenviable situation. After all that has happened, primarily in Tuzla and Sarajevo, where institutions were set on fire, it is now difficult for any political party with representatives in the cantonal assemblies to accept the position of a mandatary or propose a prime minister. The situation is difficult because someone could have been killed, burned, God forbid. Therefore, it is now a difficult situation, and there is not much time until the General Elections for any government to implement significant reforms and progress, and Konaković's statement that SDA is carefully considering whether to get involved is understandable – Osmanović explains.

At an extraordinary session of the Main Board of the Party of Democratic Action, several conclusions were reached, including condemnation of violence and attacks on the state, as well as reducing spending in institutions, cutting the number of advisors, representation costs, etc.

As Osmanović explained, the goal was to see what the citizens' demands were and to try to respect them through the regular procedures in the legislative bodies of the cantons, the Federation, and the state.

- We believe that a significant number of citizens' demands are justified, although we as SDA have warned about this before. We tried back in 2008-2009 to correct some incomes, but any reduction in income, including the abolition of the "white bread" (unemployment benefits for former officials), requires a lengthy procedure of amending laws from cantonal to federal levels. Therefore, we are in favor of it, but all of this needs to be introduced into procedures, sit down, and see which laws need to be amended – said Osmanović, adding that it is true that there are enormously high incomes that cannot be justified by anything, especially for some members of supervisory and management boards of public companies, and that this needs to be corrected.

Osmanović says that SDA is ready to accept early elections, but believes that this will be very difficult to achieve.

- More political subjects need to agree on this, from Banja Luka and SDA to HDZ in the Federation, and I believe it will be very difficult to achieve. The elections are already just around the corner, but an attempt should be made to establish governments at the cantonal level, perhaps as a kind of coalition governments with broad support in the Assemblies, and for them to try to manage until the General Elections, and then the citizens will elect their representatives who will be in power – Osmanović added.