OHR Calls for Introduction of Public Moneys Law
As you know, after the revelations contained in the reports published by the Special Auditor last year on the operations of public companies in BiH, the three prime ministers committed themselves to introducing speedy and effective reforms that would stop a small number of well-placed individuals stealing or misusing money that belongs to the people of BiH.
One of these reforms is dealt with in the Entity Laws on Investment of Public Monies, which will ensure that all investments at every level of the government are only made according to clear and enforceable criteria. At the State level, investment of Public Monies is to be addressed by the new State Law on Finance.
This legislation requires that investments of public money by government departments can only be made by an investment manager, who must be authorized and identifiable. In other words, a politician or civil servant cannot simply decide to deposit large sums of public money in a particular bank because he has a personal connection with this bank. In addition, government departments are required to report all investment results to the Entity Finance Ministry.
There is nothing controversial in this legislation. It safeguards the people’s money and protects the people’s interests. The law has already been passed by the RSNA in first reading. However, it has not yet been presented by the Federation Finance Ministry to the Government. As long as this delay continues, the door to abuse remains open and the public suffer.
OHR calls on Federation Finance Minister Dragan Vrankic to supervise the formulation by Ministry officials of a draft text of this law that can be presented without further delay to the Federation Government. The sooner this is done, the sooner the Government can send the law to parliament and the sooner parliament can enact the law. Only when this is done will citizens be protected.
PDHR Hays to Meet Municipal Officials in Jajce
The Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, will visit Jajce tomorrow – this is the latest in a series of visits which Ambassador Hays has made to municipalities all across BiH, during which he has listened to the challenges faced by municipal staff in their efforts to improve services to citizens.
In Jajce Ambassador Hays will meet Mayor Branko Cavar and other representatives of the local authorities before visiting the Jajce Hospital. The hospital authorities have struggled to restore medical services in Jajce Municipality and the wider region but have been hampered by the overlapping competencies of the Federation, the cantonal and the municipal administrations.
Ambassador Hays and Mayor Cavar will also visit the Mosque at the centre of the Old Town, St Luke’s Tower and the Franciscan Monastery. We will be issuing a media advisory during the day with the details of the media opportunities during this visit.