Citizens of Sarajevo Demand Explanation on Spending of Discretionary Funds

23 April 2008

The Citizens of Sarajevo informal group, involved in almost three months of protests against, as they say, incompetent and irresponsible cantonal and city government in Sarajevo, demand new explanations on spending of public funds from the Budget.

In a new open letter, addressed to the highest offices of the Canton of Sarajevo, the B&H Federation, OHR Miroslav Lajčak and the citizens of Sarajevo, they demand explanation for the spending of the 20,000 KM of monthly allowance to the Prime Minister, the 12 ministers in the Cantonal Government and the President of the Cantonal Assembly, to be spent at their discression, amounting to 3,360,000 KM of tax-payers\' money per year.

- The manner of disposal with the public funds is clear. What is not as clear is the purpose and the goal of those expenditures. In their fight to preserve the lucrative public offices, politicians elected by the people have obviously lost all sense of shame and reality, says the Open Letter.

Citizens of Sarajevo demand, in accordance with the Law on Free Access to Information, an urgent presentation of the detailed expenditures of each individual minister, as well as of the use of discretionary funds by Prime Minister Silajd�ić and Speaker Zvizdić.

The failure to release the requested information publicly and in the media would mean that the Prime Minister of the Cantonal Government refuses to pursue his legally prescribed tasks and obligations, providing in the process an irrefutable proof of embezzlement of public funds, say the Citizens of Sarajevo.

- We ask from OHR Lajčak and the general public in Bosnia and Herzegovina to ask if such people and their policies are what we voted for and what we consider right?, concludes the Open letter.