OSCE, Aida Besic
EUFOR, Karen Halsey
OHR
OHR Welcomes Public Debate on Parliamentarians’ Salaries
Members of the BiH Parliament have submitted legislation for debate which
would increase their benefits and pensions.
In the past the OHR has warned when legislation like this has been
unaffordable and unacceptable. OHR welcomes the fact that this debate is
now being taken on by the media and the NGO sector.
It is understandable that there is considerable popular outrage about a
proposed salary hike – as the salaries of ordinary workers, and the
benefits paid to those who are unemployed have not been the subject of
comparable parliamentary proposals for substantial increases.
The jist of public comment has been that parliamentarians clearly have to be
paid at a level that is appropriate to the importance and the demands of their
work – but this isn’t a license to give themselves a salary increase.
The BiH Ministry of Finance is now preparing a Salary Law,
which will rationalize salaries paid to BiH parliamentarians and civil servants
and bring these into line with salaries paid by the Entities and Brcko. The
guiding principal of this Law will be that parliamentarians cannot pay
themselves from funds that don’t exist, and that those funds that do exist must
be allocated in the most productive way, with the interests of citizens as the
guiding criteria.
The OHR urges parliamentarians to debate and enact the Salary Law before the
October elections. Parliamentarians should focus their energies on this law –
which is comprehensive and equitable – rather than on legislation designed
principally to give themselves more money.
Plans are being prepared to draw down the OHR with its Bonn Powers by the
middle of next year. This is an election year and it will be the electorate
that will be in a position to censure this initiative in just a few months.
OSCE
Beacon Scheme Award Ceremony is to be held tomorrow in
Sarajevo
The OSCE Mission to
of the Beacon Scheme at the Award Ceremony to take place tomorrow,
Business Centre amphitheatre in
The BiH Beacon Scheme is designed to raise standards in municipal governance
by recognising excellence and supporting the dissemination of best practices
throughout the country. The Beacon Scheme Award Ceremony marks the beginning of
the dissemination phase and during the next twelve months six Beacon
Municipalities will share their experiences and best practice with other
municipalities. The second round of the Scheme and the broad themes for
2006-2007 will also be announced during the Award Ceremony.
The Scheme was developed as a result of collaboration between the OSCE
Mission to BiH, Council of Europe, Associations of Towns and Municipalities of
Republika Srpska, Brcko District and Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina
receives financial support from the British and Swiss governments.
The press conference is scheduled for tomorrow,
2006
amphitheatre,
EUFOR
No statement.
