Oslobođenje: In order to fulfill the conditions on concluding the stand by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, BiH must reduce its budgets at all levels by at least 696 million KM. That much is the minimum consolidated deficit of the budget in BiH, which has been confirmed by the state Fiscal Council in the platform for negotiations with the IMF delegation. The state and the Brčko District will have to reduce this year’s budgets by about 50 million, the Republic of Srpska by about 146 million KM, while in the Federation of BiH – federal, cantonal and municipal budgets – will have to get reduced by 500 million.
Lower threshold
Chief of the negotiation team of the IMF, Costas Christou has said after the yesterday’s meeting with the officials of the FBiH Government, cantonal governments and bureaus for pension and employment, that the federal Government cannot do much by itself, because its budget makes only a 1/3 of all budgets in the FBiH, which are around 4.2 billion KM.
– It is good that all cantonal prime ministers admit that the crisis does exist, understand that revenues in budgets fall down, and that something must be done when speaking of expenditures, has been said by Christou, who has added that BiH and the FBiH face a very hard situation, and solving it “requires coordinated efforts of all”.
Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of the FBiH, Vjekoslav Bevanda has warned that 500 million is a “lower threshold”, and has pointed out that the deficit is much bigger.
– In the next two days we must define the conclusions and offer to the IMF the procedure of implementing all required affairs, in order to come to the wanted amount of saving. Now, it is needed to agree on which part of the confirmed GAP will be submitted by cantons and municipalities and savings in the federal budget. It is normal that they will, before everything else, relate to administration and following expenditures, and then the transfers as well. It will perhaps be more, but smaller surely not. The IMF will not let that amount be smaller, because otherwise, we will not be able to conclude the stand by arrangement, Bevanda has said. By pointing out that the diagrams are changing from day to day, Bevanda has said that the FBiH must reduce the budget by around 250 million KM.
– With the IMF or without it, federal budget will be harmonized with the realistic revenues. It will be to around a billion and 350 million KM, he has pointed out.
The Government of the Sarajevo canton, by not knowing that the IMF will come, has confirmed the consolidated budget, which is by around 100 million smaller than the proposed one, has been said by its Prime Minister, Besim Mehmedić.
Intended funds
There was no a word on the amount of funds, which BiH would receive. Chief of the IMF Mission has repeated that, even if those funds get approved, will not be possible to direct them into the public spending, but into paying of external debt.
– Goal of the IMF support is to assist the Member States to face the external challenges. There is also a list of other institutions, as the World Bank is, which support other projects, Christou has reminded.