The Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina stated today, commenting on the decisions of the High Representative Christian Schmidt on the redirection of funds from the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Viaduct project, that the funds from excise taxes are “our funds” and that they can be used “only by those who collected the funds, not by individuals from BiH or outside of it”.
“When it comes to the economy and funds from excise taxes, these are our funds that can be used only by those who collected them. We propose the distribution of tolls: 33.5 percent for Republika Srpska, 65.5 percent for the Federation of BiH and 1 percent for the Brčko District. Below 34 percent should be for Republika Srpska, but Christian Schmidt is spending our money and claims that Republika Srpska belongs to almost 39 percent, and the Federation of BiH accepts this”, said Amidžić.
He stated that BiH cannot function without mutual respect and agreement, and cited the Mostar project as an example of good practice.
“The project in Mostar succeeded because it was led by local people and shared interests, while the payments for the Viaduct to the accounts in the Channel Islands are unclear and the question arises as to whose interests are being defended,” said Amidžić.
Speaking about the acquisition of the scanner, he said that it is questionable and that the problem is not in the technology, but in where the money will end up.
He pointed out that it will be extremely difficult to find a contractor for the project in Mostar due to complaints and a complex procedure.
At the same time, he emphasized that it is almost impossible to carry out the public procurement procedure worth 112 million BAM by May next year and to find a supplier who can produce scanners to increase transparency.
Amidžić also believes that it is almost impossible to produce and deliver such a quantity of scanners in a short period of time and to implement them at all polling stations, unless the equipment is already prepared in advance.
“I also doubt that any public institution could conduct a public procurement procedure in such a short time,” said Amidžić, adding that he would personally check the production dates of the scanners if they were delivered.
Amidžić believes that decisions on election technologies should be made by those who have the trust and support of the people.
“It is an absolute lie that the political party I belong to has a problem with election technologies. These technologies have already been installed at polling stations and even better results have been achieved. The problem is not in the technology, but in where the 112 million marks will end up,” said Amidžić.
