The Prime Minister of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity said that the money for financing separate institutions for the entity, including an RS army, has been secured and is in a special account.
Radovan Viskovic made the statement after local media reported that there is no money planned for the establishment of a separate army of indirect taxation authority in the budget the RS Government adopted.
The initiative to roll back post-war reforms in Bosnia which led to the establishment of numerous institutions at the state level is at the centre of the political crisis that has been ongoing in Bosnia throughout the past several months.
BiH tripartite Presidency member, Milorad Dodik, who is also the leader of the ruling party in the Serb-majority entity, announced that the RS will withdraw from state institutions, including the army, and establish its own, separate ones.
The RS National Assembly is expected to discuss the initiative to “return entity competencies” transferred to the state level on Friday.
“It is not true that there are no funds in the budget for 2022 for the army, indirect taxation authority and institutions that will arise from the return of competencies (to the entities),” Viskovic said, adding that “there are funds in a special account.”