Draft Budget of the Federation of BiH for 2016 Adopted

Deputies in the Parliament of the FBiH adopted the draft budget for 2016, which amounts to 2,533,862,123 KM and is 7.9 percent higher than last year's budget.

Around 1.1 billion of the budget will be spent on repaying the debt of the Federation of BiH, nearly a billion is needed for current expenses, while only a smaller portion of the money will remain in the budget for development projects, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Prime Minister Fadil Novalić himself said that the Federation budget for 2016 is not of a developmental type.

The debate on the Draft Budget of the Federation of BiH for 2016 began early on Wednesday. The opposition assessed that the Draft Budget is not acceptable and that it should be radically changed. The draft was ultimately adopted with 51 votes in favor, 12 deputies voted against, and nine were abstained.

01:20 - The majority of deputies who have spoken so far in the discussion criticize that the government, with the Draft Budget for 2016, plans to allocate insufficient funds for agricultural subsidies as well as for education. Both sectors are the most important generators of any society, but the current government does not provide them with enough incentives.

11:14 - Dževad Agić from SDA said that the government allocates as much as 220 million KM from the budget for early retirement, but it should now be determined whether that money goes to the right hands. Agić says that the government should also open the registers of the veteran population and determine how much money certain people receive from the Federation.

10:42 - The government's Draft Budget for 2016 will not be supported by the BPS club in the House of Representatives of the PFBiH either. Jusuf Bubica demands that the authorities reduce the number of workers in public administration. He warns that a large number of workers in the public administration of the Federation are not needed at all. These are jobs that were created by political parties to repay their voters.

10:35 - SDP club leader Elvir Karajbić called the government's Draft Budget a debt, secret, and pre-election budget.

Karajbić warns that it is unacceptable for the government to plan to introduce new levies on citizens, thus boosting budget revenue.

10:12 - DF club leader Dženan Đonagić warns that the government's draft budget for 2016 cannot bring any positive changes.
For Professor Đonlagić, the government has done such a poor job with the Draft Budget for the next year that it is impossible to improve it with any amendments.

- The policy of indebtedness continues, but not development. With this budget, we remain at the level of development of the last pre-war year. Being satisfied with a growth rate of one or two percent is ridiculous.

This budget has nothing to do with the necessary economic reforms in the country. A patch is sought through new borrowing. Capital expenditures are a modest 30.1 percent of the budget.

The government is introducing completely wrong measures for economic recovery. This country needs an increase in pensions and salaries. Well, let the prime minister and ministers figure out how.
And, here, we will offer them several solutions; introducing new technology, new knowledge and skills, investment in research and development. Unfortunately, none of these variables are contained in the draft of the government's budget - said Đonlagić.

The prime minister, as well as most ministers, are not present at the session of the House of Representatives, Patria reports.