Not only high temperatures have been announced for this summer, but also a new wave of price increases – electricity, water, food, everything is recording price increases, and the increase in the minimum wage is rapidly disappearing under the burden of inflation. Families and pensioners are already struggling to bear all the costs, and the new price increases bring additional challenges.
Nejra Kadić from Sarajevo, a mother of three schoolchildren and a member of the “Porodice tri plus” Association, says that they are barely making ends meet, despite the fact that both she and her husband are employed.
“We probably set aside up to 600 BAM for utilities, and up to 700 in the winter. It’s a little easier in the summer because there is no heating, but we live as we can,” said Kadić.
She points out that pocket money for school lunches is no longer a symbolic expense.
“You don’t have a lunch for less than three marks. That’s a minimum where a child won’t be able to drink even a little juice. On a monthly basis, that comes out to up to 250 marks for three children,” says Kadić.
Pensioners are in an even more difficult situation. Many of them have been spending more than they receive for years.
“Every pensioner has a problem now. I have a medium pension, but it can’t last until the end of the month. I don’t know how those with the minimum live, they are magicians, David Copperfield,” says pensioner Iso Ahmetović.
He also adds that “all politicians’ salaries should be reduced by one thousand marks, and then given to those who don’t have any”.
Pensioner Almasa Boračić says that her pension of 590 BAM disappears immediately after paying utilities.
“I give two hundred only for subscriptions and I keep that in my head. My daughter from Germany helps me, I wouldn’t be able to live without her. Not only electricity and water, every month something comes up that you have to pay for,” Boračić points out.
In the last month, the Sarajevo Canton Government has approved price increases for heating, water and public transport, while an increase in the prices of waste removal services has also been announced. Sarajevo Canton Prime Minister Nihad Uk says the price increases were inevitable.
“We have reached a situation where this has to happen. There has been no political courage for decades, specifically for utilities in the Canton. This decision is not ideal for the image before the elections, but it has to be made,” Uk said.
Given the increasing frequency and increasing expenses, the space for a dignified life for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina is getting smaller.
The previous government, during the peak of price increases, told citizens to buy 37% less oil, while the current government describes the use of air conditioning and electric heating as a luxury. Clumsy and arrogant explanations have no end, just like the rise in prices.
“The problem is that everything is justified with unsustainable arguments. You run a company politically, not economically. All managements are appointed politically. Public procurements have been assessed as problematic for years, and there is talk of very harmful procurements. Services are paid for more than justified. The employee structure is unjustified. There is talk of unjustified incomes and a large number of employees who do not meet the company’s needs,” explains Igor Gavran, economic analyst.
The increase in electricity prices after that, Gavran concludes, will be used as justification for price increases in all other areas, and the only ones to benefit will be the government itself, once again collecting record revenues from VAT.
A meeting was held yesterday at Elektroprivreda Bosnia and Herzegovina (EPBiH). Representatives of the “Three Plus” Family Association requested precise information on the new prices, as well as benefits for large households.
“One tariff has been accepted, which is 350 kilowatts at the lowest price… when the price increases, the first tariff and the rest of the possible kilowatts are added up – for families, that could only be a few BAM,” points out Mustafa Vlahovljak from the “Three Plus” Family Association.
Block tariffs have been proposed along with blue, green, and red bills. The price increase will be from 4 to 8 percent. Previous price increases and low wages are the key reasons for people leaving the country. For example, ten years ago, there were about 60.000 families with three or more children living in the Federation of BiH (FBiH) entity. Today, there are 30.000. They hope for subsidies to pay for more expensive electricity.
“These consumer basket calculations multiply for 3+ families. We need 4-5 thousand BAM for a normal life. I’m not talking about vacations or some luxury, but about existential things,” says Nedzad Prazina.
In addition to paying more expensive electricity from autumn, residents of Canton Sarajevo (CS) have been paying more for water since yesterday, as well as for a daily public transport ticket. With a pension of 599 BAM and current prices, the elderly are often forced to seek help from their children, and many also look for a meal in soup kitchens.
According to the website for monitoring the cost of living, Numbeo, a family of four needs 4.235 BAM per month. It is stated that now a meal in a mid-range restaurant for two people costs between 40 and 100 BAM. Basic utility costs are around 340 BAM. Monthly rent costs from 400 to even 1.500 BAM. The average salary is now 1.500 BAM, N1 writes.
