The House of Representatives of the FBIH Parliament accepted yesterday an initiative for changes to the FBiH Constitution, based on the recommendations of an expert team, and whose official proponent is the Chairman of the House of Representatives Fehim Škaljić.
It was concluded that the Constitutional Commission of the House of Representatives would lead the further proceedings in the process of constitutional reform in accordance with its responsibilities.
Delegate of HDZ BiH Marinko Čavara opposed earlier the proposed conclusion that the recommendations of the expert team be based on constitutional reform, stating that the Collegium of the House of Representatives agreed yesterday that the recommendations could be the only reason for these changes, and the conclusion was withdrawn.
Vice-President of the Croatian National Parliament (HNS) Ivan Musa said during the session that the proposed recommendations represent the further humiliation of the Croatian people, and removing their constitutional rights as a constituent peoples, and that the party members of HNS do not wish to discuss them.
Delegate of SDP BiH in the House of Representatives of the FBIH Parliament Mirko Pejanović said that the responsibility of the parliamentarians is to reach a new FBiH Constitution by the end of 2013, which would represent the project of the future for the FBIH.
“The recommendations of the expert team go in two key directions-strengthening of the constitutional position and role of the FBiH Parliament in the process of reaching a decision on the development of the FBiH, as well as the strengthening of the constitutional position and role of municipal and city governments’’, explained Pejanović.
Vlado Ivanković, President of the Party ‘Radom za Boljitak’, assessed that the recommendations of the expert team for constitutional reform are a good basis for reform, but not sufficient.
“We give support to the drastic reduction of public expenditure, as well as the abolition of cantons, which is a permanent and sustainable solution’’, said Ivanković.
Representatives of the municipal governments in the FBIH indicated during the session at the lack of public revenues from VAT and that the allocation of funds belong to municipalities, and which amounts to only 8.4 percent of the total public revenues.
The Mayor of Tuzla Jasmin Imamović assessed that the current arrangement of the FBiH with 142 ministers, around 300 of their assistants and advisors, is an excessive number of delegates and represents a paradoxical system that needs to change.
The President of the FBiH Constitutional Court Kata Senjak welcomed the extension of powers of the FBIH Constitutional Court, which would equate it with the RS Constitutional Court, and which would enable all citizens of the FBiH the same access to this judicial institution in the FBIH, just like the citizens of RS have towards the RS Constitutional Court.
At the session of the House of Representatives of the FBiH, they discussed the initiative for changes to the FBiH Constitution, which is based on recommendations of the expert team and whose work is supported by the US Embassy to BiH.
The session ended with the adoption of the decision on accepting the initiative for changes to the FBiH Constitution, whose official promoter is Škaljić.
The expert team developed 188 recommendations for constitutional reform in the FBiH with the goal to improve the equality of all citizens and create a functional and efficient entity.
(Source: Nezavisne Novine)
