Representatives of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the Party for BiH (SBiH), and the Democratic Front (DF) announced today the formation of a new parliamentary majority and the Government of Sarajevo Canton, saying the three parties have already agreed to cooperate.
At the press conference in Sarajevo, Faruk Kapidzic (SDA), Muamer Bandic (SBiH), and Albin Zuhric (DF) discussed the election results, the formation of a new government, and the issues Sarajevo Canton’s citizens face.
Kapidzic said that SDA, SBiH, and DF currently hold 18, and expect 19, representative seats in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, and announced that the new majority and the Government should be formed very quickly.
“We already have an arrangement; cooperation continues. We will form the majority and Government very soon. We are working until the certificates are awarded. By that time, we will prepare the program and personnel to start improving the situation,” Kapidzic said.
As one of the priorities of the new government, he cited resolving daily civic issues, especially the ones regarding communal infrastructure and water supply.
He also announced the organizational changes in the Sarajevo Canton Government, which also include splitting the Ministry of Culture and Sports into two separate ministries.
Kapidzic added that the decision about the candidate for the Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton will be made by SDA party bodies, if the party receives the mandate to propose the prime minister designate.
He expects that SBIH will have eight mandates in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly in the end, which would give the new majority a total of 19 representative votes.
Zuhric confirmed that DF, with its two representatives, has the opportunity to participate in deciding the new majority, emphasizing that his party already made a choice between the two political options.
“We have committed to building this government together. The government must confront the corruption of the previous administration and address problems such as having no water in Sarajevo all day today, potholes on roads, and collapsing facades. The new government should offer a program which won’t be limited to isolated projects, but which will focus on resolving key infrastructure issues,” Zuhric said.
He especially singled out the state of the water supply network in Sarajevo Canton, stating that about 800 out of 1,550 kilometers of water pipes require urgent rehabilitation.
He said that the DF believes that Faruk Kapidzic would be a good candidate for the prime minister, while confirming that the final decision on the candidate will be made by SDA.
Bandic recalled that the current Sarajevo Canton Government lost its majority support in early March, after which no new government was formed.
He also criticized the work of the Ministry of Transportation led by Adnan Šteta, and announced a different approach for the new administration.
He added that Sarajevo Canton is currently in debt for about 1 billion BAM, while out of the previously planned 250 million BAM in loan funds, only about 30 million BAM has been realized. He added that in the first six months of this year, the Canton took on an additional 200 million BAM in debt, with only 15 percent of a total of 80 laws implemented.
He also emphasized issues in public transport, stating that citizens will ultimately bear the burden of the debt and GRAS’s obligations.
“Sarajevo Canton owes one billion BAM through debt accumulation. It will take a year to fix what we are in debt for. By the time we pay the last installment, the written-off trams will be 35 years old. Citizens now carry GRAS’s debt. A lot of work lies ahead,” Bandic concluded.
