The problem of a world power would certainly spill over to the rest of the planet, including BiH. But,BiH authorities, although they are obliged, do not seem to think about it. We have no commodity reserves, there are announcements about changes, but the trust of the citizens has almost been lost.
Last week’s Report on the increase in unemployment in the U.S.was an indicator of changes in the labor market. World economic analysts warn that a new recession is coming in the U.S.
World financial markets are afraid. The profession indicates that the reactions of technological giant companies to the previous changes were mild, and this Black Monday stock markets fell all over the world – Europe, Asia, the U.S. Thus, even the richest companies recorded enormous losses.
“One thousand billion dollars in market capitalization was lost in one day. Just to draw a parallel, the budget of the Federation of BiH (FBiH) for the year 2024, when converted into dollars, is four billion dollars. For one, 250 of the budget of the FBiH has disappeared in market capitalizations,” explains finance professor Sanel Halilbegovic.
And while due to the decline in the profits of technology companies and the fear of the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East, countries fear a recession, a lack of investors and an increase in energy prices. In our country, only prices and the poverty risk rate have been on the rise for a long time.
Although all events on the world market affect BiH as well, we do not have commodity reserves, nor a plan for functioning in crisis situations.
“BiH must govern with short-term measures and long-term measures at the same time. Not reactively, not in the sense of putting a band-aid on, but here we basically have sepsis,” Professor Halilbegovic adds.
Economic analyst Zoran Pavlovic believes that the authorities do not take care of citizens in terms of care and security in case of unplanned situations.
“To strategically define what is necessary and necessary for the daily life of citizens and to establish it at the level of even BiH,” he says.
Thus, the Directorate for Commodity Reserves of the FBiHstated that they work according to the Law from 1999, and that the amount of stock should be significantly higher than the current one, but they have to arrange the storage areas, which requires additional funds.
They expect that the Government of the Federation will soon amend the Law. However, both employers and workers are waiting for the Government to pass the set of fiscal laws that was promised by the end of last year. In the Republika Srpska (RS), the situation is even worse. The Directorate of Commodity Reserves has been under bankruptcy since 2017.
The BiH Prosecutor’s Office also opened an investigation, but it did not go any further than that. That is why Pavlovic states that work is needed at the state level. Everything could be solved quickly because it is only necessary to follow the good practices of other countries, but political will is also needed.
”There is a whole system of providing food items for the needs of citizens in a strategic sense, and it can be done in a month. This is not a problem at all, the problem is that it is no longer a strategic issue of caring for citizens, but a political issue,” adds Pavlovic.
Citizens distrustful – despite optimism, they say they are losing hope, and they worry about future generations.
”I’m crazy, but I’m not stupid. I don’t trust anyone,” says a citizen of Sarajevo.
That there are reasons for concern is also shown by the trade union consumer basket, which amounted to almost three thousand BAM in June. The announced recession in the U.S.would decapitate the BiH economy. That is why the profession warns that governments must make preparations and take care of citizens. But the citizens here are already used to receiving promises, and rarely more than that.
