The sale of unpromising assets of the Kreka Brown Coal Mine has received the support of the federal authorities as one of the possible ways to resolve decades of tax debt and enable workers to retire with dignity. The next key step is the adoption of new legal solutions that would precisely regulate and limit this process.
Multi-million dollar mortgaged property
According to the first non-preliminary analyses, the total value of non-perspective assets of RMU Kreka is estimated at several tens of millions of marks. For now, the analysis made is only a part of the multimillion-dollar property, which, among other things, is located in attractive construction locations in Tuzla.
For this reason, the current management of the mine initiated the resolution of the issue that had been pushed under the carpet for decades.
“All the assets of RMU Kreka that are kept in our business books are mortgaged by the Tax Administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The eventual sale of these assets would create opportunities for the settlement of obligations to the funds that were reported in the consolidation process, as well as current obligations. This would create the prerequisites for tying up the length of service of the workers and the settlement of obligations for their current retirement. According to what has been recorded so far in the cadastre and land registers, the conditions for the eventual sale of assets have been created in the value of about 40 million marks”, said the director of RMU Kreka Elnur Dizdarević.
Support of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The federal prime minister and the line minister supported such an idea and promised to initiate legal procedures. The support of other parliamentary parties participating in the federal government is also expected.
“We will prepare a legal solution on consolidation, which would represent a huge step forward and a great salvation for the Kreka mine. By selling unpromising assets, we could create funds to bind the working years of the miners for the period in which contributions were not paid, but also create conditions for the further development of the mine,” said Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nermin Nikšić (SDP).
Dizdarević expects that the proposed legal solutions will receive the necessary support.
“I believe that the social interest will be recognized for workers to be a priority and to enable the binding of seniority, as well as the stabilization of funds through the settlement of obligations. There should be no obstacles to the adoption of these changes in the law and we expect that they will eventually come about,” said Dizdarević.
The union expects a solution
All of this is supported by the Miners’ Union of this mine, from which it was announced that they finally expect that they will be able to retire normally, that contributions are paid month by month and that all legal regulations are fully respected during the retirement of miners.
The Kreka mine has been at the top of the list of tax debtors in the Federation for years, however, the financial crisis has stabilized, which is why the mine is trying to be saved from bankruptcy by hiring new miners and modernizing production.
“There are prospects in the mine. We have been informed that the competition for the admission of miners has aroused great interest and that a significant number of candidates have applied. This shows that people see the opportunity again and believe in what is being done,” said Nikšić.
Importance for the energy sector
Director of the Public Enterprise Elektroprivreda Bosnia and Herzegovina d.d. Sarajevo Sanel Buljubašić emphasized the importance of stable operation of mines for the overall energy sector.
“Electroprivreda Bosnia and Herzegovina produces about 80 percent of electricity in thermal power plants, which is why the stability of mines is of key importance for the stability of the energy sector in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Every new amount of coal produced contributes to that stability,” said Buljubašić.
Auditors have been warning about problems for years
For years, federal auditors have been warning about all of this, and they have issued recommendations on the urgency of settling obligations for taxes and contributions on paid salaries, as well as the necessity of solving the issue of non-prospective assets.
However, most of the recommendations of the federal auditors were ignored by the mine’s former management, Federalna writes.
