FBiH Government preparing Program to assist population most affected by inflation

(Patria) - Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Fadil Novalić and Deputy Prime Ministers, Federal Ministers of Finance Jelka Milićević, and Labour and Social Policy Vesko Drljača, at the headquarters of the Federal Government in Sarajevo, held a working meeting this morning on the Program to assist categories of the population particularly affected by inflation.

In line with the Federal Government's commitment to the necessity of designing and implementing additional interventions, and with the aim of creating an assistance program in the shortest possible time, the meeting discussed models and types of assistance, categories of the population that will be covered by the program, then line ministries and federal institutions that will be responsible for awarding assistance, as well as deadlines for adopting and implementing the program.

Given that preparatory activities were completed in the previous days, it was concluded that work on the program should be maximally intensified, so that the Federal Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina can consider the finalized Proposal and adopt the Assistance Program at a session next week.

The Federal Government, at its session held on June 23, 2022, upon the proposal of the Prime Minister of FBiH, accepted the information on the need to develop a program for socially vulnerable categories. After that, it tasked a working group, composed of representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Ministry of Finance, and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, to propose a program of assistance to categories of the population particularly affected by inflation within 15 days.

The program would be implemented through line ministries and government institutions, based on appropriate bylaws to be adopted by the FBiH Government. The program is the Federal Government's response to significant inflationary pressures which, in our country as well as around the world, have negative consequences on the purchasing power and living standards of the citizens of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially those with lower material status.

Although certain measures have been taken that have yielded results, the Government has taken the position that, taking into account current macroeconomic trends, and anticipating further developments in the global market, it is necessary to design and implement additional interventions.