The Sarajevo Municipality of Stari Grad spoke out after information was published in the media about the decision of the Municipal Council of Stari Grad Sarajevo to divert the funds in the budget of this municipality intended to help victims of the earthquake in Turkey to hold a referendum on the impeachment of the mayor. It was said – now they are obliged to explain what factors preceded that decision.
At the beginning, they point out that, although the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, as well as the Municipal Council of Stari Grad Sarajevo, had the best intentions in providing assistance to the population threatened by devastating earthquakes, due to the lack of legal regulations, as well as clear instructions from higher authorities, the payment of funds could not be realized.
Then they state that the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) did not give clear instructions to the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo on how the payment of financial resources can be realized.
“Appreciating that the cited Instruction, as well as other legal and by-laws, do not have clearly defined regulations on how financial resources can be paid from the local self-government level to other countries, the conclusion about the payment of aid to the suffering population of Turkey, despite the best intentions, could not be realized”, they stated.
The announcement also points out that the events of May this year and the investigative actions carried out in the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo indicated the possibility of illegal actions in numerous cases with which the public is well aware.
“Precisely for this reason, there is a justified suspicion that the previous management of the Stari Grad Municipality made the decision to help the population of Turkey hastily and without first checking the legal possibilities for its implementation. The willingness and determination to help the friendly people of the Republic of Turkey still exists, but only within the legal framework and when the conditions are met and laws are passed at the level of the state of BiH“, they wrote.