The official cars of BH politicians and officials purchased in 2017 cost at least 10 million BAM, according to the analysis of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in BiH (BIRN BiH).
According to available information from the official portal of public procurements, “Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske” purchased the most expensive car last year.
According to data of state auditors from a few years ago, the average price of a new vehicle is 40,000 BAM, while official vehicles are significantly newer than private ones. The analysis conducted by BIRN BiH shows that the average price of about 160 vehicles purchased at all levels this year amounted to 45,000 BAM.
The ten most expensive cars purchased in 2017 cost over one million BAM.
President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, i.e. the institution he leads, purchased two official cars for a total of 117,000 BAM in the year of 2017. The Presidency of BiH, with its three members, purchased three official cars for a total of 153,000 BAM.
Most of the cars in BiH were purchased at the municipal level, three out of ten, according to the analysis of BIRN BiH. Of the total number of cars, about 26 % were purchased by entity institutions or public companies, and 22 were purchased by cantonal institutions, while the share of cars purchased at the state level was about 16 %.
Purchase of expensive cars has been recorded in previous years as well. At the end of 2016, BIRN BiH reported that the Presidency of BiH allocated almost 200,000 BAM for the purchase of luxury cars, while the Council of Ministers of BiH spent 900,000 BAM.
Protests against spending money on cars were organized in Banja Luka in September as well.
The costs of official vehicles do not end with their purchase. Maintenance of vehicles usually costs more than their purchase. The Presidency of BiH is planning around 200,000 BAM for maintenance of their fleet on the annual level.
(Source: klix.ba)
