Rad, ZOI ‘84 and Health Centre to be reviewed by top audit firms

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The KS Government, in order to improve the functioning of public enterprises and institutions, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and embassies in BiH, has launched a process of expert assessment of the situation in the public sector in order to obtain professional and clear guidelines for its further action in these companies. The Norwegian Embassy, ​​under this model, has provided funds through UNDP to engage the world's best audit firms to enter some companies that are assessed to be able to and must perform better, and significant budget funds are allocated for their operations. Among the first companies to enter this project are the companies Rad and ZOI ‘84, and the public institution Health Centre.

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway Guri Rusten, UNDP representative Edis Arifagić, and the Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton Edin Forto signed the agreement on the implementation of this project.

“We assessed that the services provided by these companies have a great impact on the quality of life in the Canton and that they need professional help. I express great gratitude to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway and UNDP because they responded very quickly to my call to financially assist us in this. In return, we expect these companies to provide a very clear picture and clear recommendations for our government in order to improve the operations of these companies and, most importantly, to improve services to citizens,” emphasized Prime Minister Forto.

As Ambassador Rusten pointed out, a recent Transparency International report states that public enterprises are extremely susceptible to corruption due to several factors. These include politicized supervisory boards and management itself, as well as a low level of transparency and accountability to citizens. At the same time, in Sarajevo Canton alone, about 90 million KM is allocated annually for public enterprises, which is almost 10% of the entire Budget.

“The Project for Strengthening the Integrity of Public Enterprises (PEIP) is an initiative implemented by UNDP BiH, funded by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway. The project will provide support to the Government of Sarajevo Canton in formulating and implementing a set of anti-corruption measures aimed at reducing the space for corrupt practices in the public sector, especially in the segment of public enterprise operations,” Ambassador Rusten stated.

UNDP explains that the project plans an in-depth analysis of the operations of these companies with the aim of identifying and eliminating space for risky or corrupt behavior.

“The analysis will include a review of financial operations, an overview of public procurement processes, a review of internal organization, and many other segments of these companies' work. Based on the results of the analysis, a set of measures for better and more transparent operations will be formulated and implemented,” said Arifagić.

It is expected that the instruments created through this project will be made available to all public enterprises in the Canton, in cooperation with the Anti-Corruption Office of the Government of Sarajevo Canton.

The total value of the project is around 500,000 KM and it will be implemented over a period of 12 months.