NINKOVIĆ: STANIVUKOVIĆ SPENDS CITY BUDGET FUNDS UNLAWFULLY

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 25 /SRNA/ - The President of the Banja Luka City Assembly, Ljubo Ninković, claims that Mayor Draško Stanivuković spent money from the city budget unlawfully.

"According to our reports on the execution of the city budget, more than BAM 60 million of budget funds were spent for unintended purposes. Together with the 2024 report, these are documents showing that the Mayor of Banja Luka spent all that money unlawfully," Ninković stated in the SRNA podcast.

Ninković added that once the consolidated report on the execution of the city budget for 2025 is submitted, the total amount of the city’s debt will be known.

He said he is not satisfied with the work of the city administration led by Stanivuković, stressing that changes must be made for Banja Luka to move forward.

"The city administration has been in power for six consecutive years. We are not sure that what is written in the budget will actually be implemented," Ninković pointed out.

The President of the City Assembly said that over the past two to three years, the city parliament has not had a program of joint public spending, and that councilors were not even able to influence the document through amendments.

Ninković points out that there was also no calendar of tourist events, and many other things that used to be taken for granted as part of the review process, which made every city administration transparent, so it was clear where city money was being spent and what it was planned for.

He stated that former mayor Igor Radojičić had left a certain surplus in the city budget, which was spent during the first two years of Stanivuković’s term, adding that he assumes the money went on decorating the city and various unplanned budget expenditures.


PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY, NOT PROMENADES

He said he is not against building promenades and certain parks, but that at this moment, these are not priorities for the City of Banja Luka. Instead, the priority should be the needs of people in local communities, particularly in terms of public infrastructure - resolving issues related to water supply, sewage, and roads.

"In the Banja Luka neighborhood of Lauš, which is only two to three kilometers from the city center, you have a collapsed street and a landslide that has not been addressed for a year," Ninković pointed out.

He added that residents in the Banja Luka settlements of Bronzani Majdan, Stratinska, and Kmećani have major needs, but that the mayor and his administration last visited these areas in 2020, when they used cows and hay from locals for their campaign video.


CHRONIC LACK OF FUNDS IN THE CITY BUDGET THREATENS PUBLIC HYGIENE

Ninković stated that the city authorities have not paid for plaques for City Day to companies in the past two years. He added that the city owes BAM 4 million to the public utility company “Čistoća” for public hygiene services and that efforts are now being made to recover this debt at the expense of the citizens.

"The chronic lack of funds in the Banja Luka City Administration is threatening public hygiene, roads, and investments in the area of Banja Luka. Salaries for employees in the City Administration have not been increased, and an agreement between kindergartens and the city administration was only barely reached," Ninković noted.


TRAMS AND OTHER "PRETTY LIES" FROM THE MAYOR

Commenting on Stanivuković’s announcement about launching certain capital projects in Banja Luka, such as introducing trams into the city transport system by the end of the year, as well as building a bridge in the Dolac neighborhood and the “Palas” hotel, Ninković said these are “pretty lies” that the mayor resorts to ahead of every election campaign because there is no money for everything he has envisioned.

Ninković stated that all projects completed in the city were implemented with funds from Republika Srpska, citing as examples the central monument to fallen soldiers of Republika Srpska, the bridge in Česma, the renovation of the Milanović House, and the roundabout near the Campus.