DODIK: EIGHT BILLION BAM IN INVESTMENTS IN SRPSKA BY 2030

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 30 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik says that the SNSD has developed an economic programme for every sector through 2030, estimating that there will be BAM 8 billion in investments in Republika Srpska by that time.

Dodik says he sees Republika Srpska in the future as self-governing and independent, with good wages being paid.

"There is no reason why we should not succeed. The only important thing is that we do not create a mess for ourselves, such as by choosing inconsistent people," Dodik told RTRS.

Dodik says that wages in Republika Srpska have grown in real terms by 23 percent over the past five years, while pensions have increased by 25 percent. During that period, 15,400 jobs were created, 90 percent of which were in the real private sector.

He emphasized that Republika Srpska has kept electricity prices low for 20 years in order to preserve living standards and provide an incentive to the economy, something that was recently also recommended by Jeffrey Sachs, a leading global expert in the field.

"GDP is not the only measure for us; the most important thing is the real wage," Dodik added.

According to him, Republika Srpska currently pays BAM 2.4 billion annually for pensions alone, BAM 1.6 billion for the healthcare sector, BAM 1 billion for veteran allowances, and BAM 7 billion in total for wages.

"We need to create a system that makes this possible," Dodik stressed.

He emphasized that the data show that Republika Srpska has a faster-growing economy than the Federation of BiH and that wages in Republika Srpska are growing faster than in the Federation of BiH.

"In addition, we spent a significant part of this time under sanctions imposed by the international community, which did not allow financial markets to be used for investment," Dodik said.