Sarajevo Canton PM calls youth "a handful of loud ones", KS Government must act on Assembly's conclusion and pay subsidy difference for apartments

By: A. Vrabac

Sarajevo Canton Prime Minister Nihad Uk (Our Party) has not shown sensitivity to the problem faced by young people who applied for housing subsidies. Neither meetings nor organized protests, joined by family members, citizens, and some politicians, were enough to find a solution and increase the subsidies, which were paid out for the first time at the lowest amount since the project's inception.

In January of this year, young people received 4,816 KM each, while the public call envisioned up to 12,000 KM. In previous years, these subsidies amounted to 10,000 KM each, while in 2020, 7,000 KM was paid out. The public call accepted applications from 1,142 young people.

The youth demanded that they be paid a roughly equal amount, while Uk repeatedly stated there was no money.

In an interview with the portal Klix a few days ago, Uk also spoke about this issue and said that changing some of the application conditions did not prove to be a good model.

“The result was a handful of loud ones who, through the media and an organized campaign on social networks, belittled the idea of the entire project. The focus of the KS Government, which I lead, is on young people who want to live and work in our canton and who want to get a roof over their heads through various types of housing subsidies. A segment of our housing policy will be subsidized construction. The Canton will build buildings, whose apartments will be available to young people under subsidized conditions – for rent or purchase,” Uk stated.

Given that the question pertained to the criticism from the youth, it is clear that Uk referred to the majority of young people who protested in Sarajevo, which had significant public support, as "a handful of loud ones." If not them, then he meant those who publicly called on the KS Government to provide subsidies to young people as in previous years. One of those loud ones was Elmedin Konaković, head of NIP, so it will be interesting to see who Uk was actually referring to. In any case, whoever he meant, the KS Prime Minister has no right to call anyone "a handful of loud ones," even if only one person is fighting for their rights.

Regarding the eventual payment of the difference in funds, it should be recalled that on June 10th of this year, at a session of the KS Assembly, delegate Admela Hodžić requested that the Assembly decide on a previously submitted initiative to find funds for paying the subsidy difference to young people up to 10,000 KM in the 2024 budget rebalance.

The KS Assembly supported this initiative with 22 votes, while four delegates from Our Party abstained.

For now, there is no information on when the next session of the KS Assembly will be held, nor about the budget rebalance.

It is evident that the resolution of this problem will await the KS Government immediately after the elections, as the adopted initiative in the KS Assembly obliges them to do so. These young people, who have chosen the Sarajevo Canton for their future life, cannot pay the price of poor planning and prioritizing one category over another.

Otherwise, September could be hotter for the KS Government than any summer. There is increasing talk about dissatisfaction with certain ministers, and young people could take to the streets again, but this time together with educators, whose protests were previously banned, healthcare workers, and utility workers, where problems are growing daily.