A government to wish for: Dodik spent all the money from the sale of Telekom RS

Only 9.5 million KM, or 4.86 million euros, remains in the account of the Government of Republika Srpska that holds privatization funds, reports the Patria news agency.

Chief Auditor Duško Šnjegota states that the Government of Republika Srpska borrowed 95.4 million marks (48.8 million euros) over the past four years to patch the budget and that it cannot repay this money at this time, reports the portal indikator.ba.

What remained from the sale of Telekom Srpske, the government has repeatedly lent to itself over the past years and regularly postponed repayment.

Šnjegota reminds that by the end of the year, the Health Insurance Fund must also repay 14.5 million KM, and that the same amount is owed by the Public Company Commodity Reserves, and that repayment of these two debts is also uncertain for now.

The government should also repay 17 million KM spent on the construction and equipping of the hospital in Bijeljina by the end of the year, because the Ministry of Health was obliged to return the money upon the realization of the loan with the European Investment Bank, which has not happened to date.

The account holding privatization funds is also owed by privatized companies. The Brod Refinery, for example, should repay four million marks by the end of the year, which, according to the claims of the relevant minister, will nevertheless happen.

-According to my knowledge, the Nestro Group has so far had no problems with fulfilling its obligations, so I believe that they will also regularly fulfill their obligations on this matter, said the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Republika Srpska, Petar Đokić.

Economists are convinced that not everyone, like the refinery, will repay what they owe, because most of the borrowed money is uncollectible.

Although most of the money from that dedicated account went to development projects, the jobs lost in privatization have not been compensated, and the number of unemployed in RS today is almost the same as in 2006, the text states.