FBIH ENTITY PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS PRIVATIZATION POLICY ON NOVEMBER 29

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (November 23,2007) – Session of the FBIH Entity Parliament’s House of Representatives ended with an agreement that the delegates should state their opinion on the FBIH Entity Government’s document related to the privatization policy on the session that is to take place November 29.

The FBIH Entity Government sent to the parliamentary procedure the follow-up material of the priority development projects which are supposed to be financed by the money from the sale of the strategic companies such is the telecom. The amount of money that the FBIH Entity Government expects to earn from the sale rises up to 4 billion Bosnian Marks. Sector of electric energy is not a part of the plans.

The opposition placed several objections to the material, but the FBIH Entity Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic concluded that the FBIH Entity Government is heading the right way because it focused on the development of the FBIH Entity from the money that is to be ensured by the sale of the state-owned companies. That is an issue the opposition agreed with.

The biggest oppositional party – the Bosnian Social Democratic Party (SDP BiH), explained their priority stances by saying that the FBIH Entity Government does not foresee the development fund in their material.

”If the privatization money is to be given in the form of grants for certain development projects, it will be spent. Then what? One should invest into projects which will make money”, the opposition commented.

”We are not against the privatization, but we need to know what the post-privatization period is going to be like. We are of the opinion that a public discussion should be organized on the issue” SDP Party delegate Alija Behmen said.

The FBIH Entity Government, however, stated in the document that the privatization policy should in the essence mean the acceleration of the process – transition to the market business through the process of privatization of the state capital which is per 51 per cent higher; as well as the development of the primary and secondary capital market.

”Privatization should not be conducted for the sake of the very privatization. It should be conducted because of the development”, the FBIH Entity Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic said. The money would be used in two years’ period for two categories of the development projects. The first category is important for the entity and the second for the local communities’ development,he said.