Dnevni avaz: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has refused the request of the Government of the FBiH to change the agreed plan of measures of saving and taking out of them remunerations for disabled and families of war veterans, has been confirmed for “Dnevni avaz” by Vjekoslav Bevanda, Minister of Finance of the FBiH, after negotiations with representatives of the IMF in Vienna.
According to him, representatives of the IMF have expressed their standpoint that a content of the intention letter, which has been sent by BiH to the IMF by asking to conclude the three-year credit arrangement of 1.2 billion Euros, cannot be changed.
Intention letter
In that letter, the Government of the FBiH has obligated itself that it will reduce the remunerations for disabled and families of war veterans by 10%, but after the protests of organizations of disabled and families of war veterans, which have been held in Sarajevo several days ago, the Government of the FBiH has given it up and has prepared the budget rebalance without reductions of those remunerations.
IMF: We expect additional consultations
As we find out, after the yesterday’s meeting, the IMF does not think that the stand by arrangement has dropped down, but that it expects “additional consultations”. – Additional consultations will be needed for the arrangement. But, it is clear now that we cannot respect the previous deadlines. It is almost sure that the Executive board of the IMF will not, as it has been planned, deliberate the arrangement with BiH, nor approve it on June 29 – has been unofficially said for “Avaz”.
Savings of around 33 million KM have been transferred to some other budget lots. Bevanda has then said that remunerations will not be reduced and that the IMF has approved it. But, after the last night’s meeting in the Austrian capital, Bevanda has stated different situation.
– We did not reach the agreement. They have said that we will get to the arrangement only if we fulfill what has been stated in the intention letter. Otherwise, they will give us up. They have told us that it is not serious to change what has been agreed, since they have sent the letter to more than 160 countries – members of the IMF – has been said by Bevanda. He has pointed out that he tried to explain why the Government has change its mind and changed the budget rebalance, but without success. As he has said yesterday, after the agreements, which have fallen down, “there are no longer any plans”.
The Government’s move
– There is nothing more for me to do; I have done what I could. It is now on the others, the Government should decide what and how, but the IMF is totally clear. They have really told us, the arrangement is possible only according to the previous conditions, you must rethink it and see where you are – Bevanda has said.
The BiH Delegation, in which besides Bevanda, there is also Minister of Finance of BiH, Dragan Vrankić, Minister of Finance of the RS, Aleksandar Džombić and a candidate for the Prime Minister of the FBiH, Mustafa Mujezinović, has been talking to the chief of the IMF Department for BiH, Costas Christou. The meeting in Vienna has been organized in order for the IMF to present the progress in fulfilling the conditions for stand by arrangement, for which the deadline has expired on June 22. The state governments and the governments of the RS have fulfilled the agreed conditions and have done the budget rebalances as it has been planned.