AMIDŽIĆ: BHRT NOT COVERED BY BUDGET, MANAGEMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SITUATION

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 26 /SRNA/ - The Minister of Finance and Treasury in the Council of Ministers of BiH, Srđan Amidžić, stated that the budget does not recognize cultural institutions and BHRT and therefore funds cannot be disbursed to them, adding that the management should be responsible for the situation in these institutions.

"The law defines how an entity gains the status of a budget user. A law must be adopted to create that basis. This does not exist for BHRT or for cultural institutions," Amidžić told reporters in Banja Luka.

He explained that funds cannot be paid from the budget to anyone except the 75 users clearly listed, and no deviations are permitted.

"I respect the law. There are funds from RAK, which the law recognizes, that can be disbursed through grants to the entity governments. I would remind that I have previously participated in decisions to allocate funds legally belonging to BHRT," Amidžić pointed out.

He noted that proposals for payments, such as those by the Minister of Communications and Transport in the Council of Ministers, Edin Forto, are merely meant to mislead the public and BHRT employees.

"Similarly, he could have sent a request to Italy to include BHRT in the budget as a budget user. He proposes illegal solutions to claim he proposed something and to cover himself before BHRT employees. That is unlawful," Amidžić stressed.

He believes that BHRT management should be held responsible for its operations.

"We have institutions in Republika Srpska that would like to be in better financial condition, and I have never said they should be funded from BiH institutions' budget," Amidžić concluded.