Nezavisne novine: SARAJEVO – Parliamentary Commission did not receive even one request for decrease of proposed salaries of MPs, delegates, members of Presidency and the Council of Ministers of BiH, which are supposed to amount at least 6.000 KM.
This was confirmed by Lazar Prodanović, deputy chairman of the Commission.
“So far we received requests to exclude from the Law judges of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the Regulatory Agency for Communications, and to increase the lowest salaries for civil servants and police officers. Nobody suggested to decrease salaries of the MPs, delegates, or members of the Presidency or the Council of Ministers”, said Prodanović.
The House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the BiH parliament adopted in first readings the Law on salaries in institutions of BiH. The proposal of this Law stipulates that the members of the Presidency of BiH, the judges of the Constitutional Court, the Chairperson and the ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH, the MPs and the delegates in the BH parliament have salaries of 6.000 to 8.000 KM. Prodanović yesterday clarified that the amendment phase of discussion on this Law is ongoing, in which all the MPs can by amendments request changes, including decrease in proposed salaries.
“The SNSD will consider requests for increase of the lowest salary of the civil servants and the police officers. We think that we need this law and we think that the elected officials and duty bearers have to be adequately paid”, Prodanović pointed out.
The SDP BiH will today in all the larger cities start gathering signatures for petition by which refusal of the law on high privileges of politicians in BiH will be requested. They will transfer their requests in amendments to the laws.
“We will request either decrease of foreseen salaries or that MPs obligate them selves that the law on these shamelessly high salaries will be enacted when we enter the EU or adopt the European constitution”, said Nermin Nikšić, secretary general of the SDP BiH. He also added that this party will do everything to stop the adoption of the law which provides politicians with enormous privileges. The SDP announced gathering of citizens in front of the BH parliament building, when this law is discussed.
Mašić: To the MPs 2.500 KM at the most
Slovenia has average salary of 860 Euros, and Slovenian MP of around 5.000 Euos. In Croatia, average salary is 5.000 kunas, and MP’s 12.000 kunas. Both countries have much, much lower unemployment rate than BiH. We think that our MPs, considering the average salary in BiH and the unemployment rate, should not have a salary of more than 2.500 KM, said Damir Mašić, secretary for information of the SDP BiH, at yesterday press conference.