PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE OPENS CASE, CHECKS ARE UNDER WAY

BIJELJINA, FEBRUARY 25 /SRNA/ - A case has been opened at the Bijeljina District Public Prosecutor's Office concerning the negative audit opinion issued by the Supreme Audit Office of the Republika Srpska Public Sector on the finances of the city of Bijeljina for 2023, the Prosecutor's Office told SRNA.

"The prosecutor is undertaking all necessary measures and actions and is carrying out checks in accordance with the law," the Prosecutor's Office stated.

The audit found that in 2023, obligations exceeding the budget in the amount of BAM 10.7 million were incurred.

The City Administration of Bijeljina did not respond to SRNA’s inquiry as to whether measures had been taken to comply with the recommendations issued in the audit.

Ljubiša Petrović, Mayor of Bijeljina, was given recommendations to ensure that, among other things, fixed-term employment, as well as temporary and permanent transfers of employees, are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Civil Servants and Employees in the Bodies of Local Self-Government Units.

Željana Arsenović, President of the Bijeljina City Assembly, warned in a statement to SRNA that the city budget is not anyone's private wallet, but the money of all citizens of Bijeljina, which must be spent in the manner adopted by the city parliament, in accordance with the laws of Republika Srpska.

"It is our duty to seek accountability and to ensure that audit recommendations are implemented, so that citizens' money is spent lawfully, purposefully, and in the interest of all, not according to someone's arbitrariness," Arsenović said.

Workers in Bijeljina who are financed from the city budget have been fighting for their earned wages for months through strikes and lawsuits.