Sarajevo Canton Assembly Adopts Budget Rebalance for 2020

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - After more than 15 hours of session, the Sarajevo Canton Assembly adopted the budget rebalance for 2020 in the amount of 1,114,597,584 KM, or 119.3 million more than the KS budget for this year.

18 deputies voted for the KS budget rebalance, 15 voted against, and one abstained. After individual voting, the result was the same.

The discussion on the budget rebalance was marked by numerous remarks from the opposition, as well as some deputies from the ruling majority.

Opposition deputies pointed out that the rebalance does not benefit entrepreneurs and citizens. Remarks also concerned the part of the budget related to the University of Sarajevo.

A discussion was also held on the financing of political parties and independent deputies. This part of the discussion was marked by a series of mutual exchanges between deputy Bibija Kerla (DF) and independent deputy Damir Nikšić.

Kerla argued that if the funds for financing political parties are reduced by 50 percent, then the funds for independent deputies should be reduced by the same amount.

Nikšić, on the other hand, believes that it is impossible to compare political parties and independent deputies, which is why it is impossible to reduce their funds identically.

It was also discussed that although the proposer of the budget rebalance, the KS Government, stated that they reduced amounts in many items, it still appears that there has been an increase in those items.

Numerous deputies, regardless of their status in the KS Assembly, stated that the KS Government must prepare a new rebalance soon, in order to bring certain things into a realistic state.

The amendment by deputy Damir Marjanović to increase the item for science by about 3 million, with funds compensated from reconstruction and investment items, was not accepted because it was technically incorrect, explained the KS Minister of Finance Jasmin Halebić, adding that most of the funds Marjanović proposed to transfer were actually loan funds.

Marjanović stated that science will be left without funds in KS this year, and that the Government could have foreseen funds for science from another position, even before the session.

We remind you that on Thursday, the KS Assembly adopted the "corona law ", which necessitated the adoption of the budget rebalance.

We will know in the coming months whether the legislative and executive authorities of the wealthiest Canton of Sarajevo have prepared a good legal solution and an adequate budget rebalance, and the situation will largely depend on the situation with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Assembly also voted on amendments to the law on budget execution.