Dnevni avaz: The Law on Salaries and Remunerations in the Institutions of BiH was yesterday in first reading discussed by the House of Representatives of the BiH parliament. After the Minister of Finances of BiH, Dragan Vrankić, explained the Law, there was a bitter long argument on the draft Law which, among other things, stipulates average increase in salaries in the civil service by 13, and for the highest officials as much as by 130 per cent.
Systematic order
Chairman of the SDA Caucus, Bakir Izetbegović, pointed out that he supports systematic ordering of this area, but that quotients of salaries in the institutions have to have a measure.
"In Croatia, parliamentarians have four average salaries, in Slovenia five, and we six. We are not against the law, but in the amendment phase we will demand that the quotients are put into measure. It should be seen what is the salary of a miner, and then harmonize that" said Izetbegović.
His party colleague, Šefik Džaferović, added that for the salary of an MP “6.000 KM, is simply too much”, and warned that “injustice hurts people more than poverty”.
Niko Lozančić, from the HDZBiH stressed that the present condition is anarchy and supported order by law.
Representatives of the SNSD were the greatest supporters of the proposed solutions, accusing those who criticised the law for "demagogy and gathering political points". Drago Kalabić from the SNSD asked "how one director of a state institution can have a salary of 10.000 KM".
Who is the authority in the state, if not we. The MPs in the PA RS have 17 times better working conditions. The Council of Ministers adopted the Law. You have your ministers there, why you did not tell them – said Kalabić, to which Izetbegović replied that he “did tell them”.
Moral lessons
The discussion was awakened by statement of Zlatko Lagumdžija, who said that those who proposed the Law “kicked” the letter of the OHR and other international institutions. His statement that it is about a bad law, was reacted to by Sadik Bahtić from the Party for BiH.
A man who took 100.000 marks and brought damage to the state has no right to give moral lectures to anybody – said Bahtić and called Lagumdžija a parasite and an MP who “does nothing, and therefore is the most expensive”.