AMIDŽIĆ: WE WILL NOT ACCEPT SCHMIDT'S DECISIONS BEING EMBEDDED IN THE STATE BUDGET

MOSTAR, JULY 22 /SRNA/ - Srđan Amidžić, Minister of Finance and Treasury in the Council of Ministers, stated that he will not accept Christian Schmidt's imposed decisions being embedded into the BiH state institutions' budget.

Amidžić said that excise revenues belong to BiH and cannot be managed by an individual acting outside of the country's institutional framework. Speaking about the "Vijadukt" case, he questioned who would dare to authorize the payment of funds to an account located in the Channel Islands, which, he emphasized, many in the EU still view as third-world jurisdictions, despite their location between the UK and France. "Whose interest is being served by making this payment? I ask this openly, and I say, if we do not begin to talk and make decisions the way BiH was originally conceived, I don't see how we can survive or function as a country," Amidžić said. Asked whether and when he plans to submit a new draft of the state institutions' budget to the BiH Presidency, one that includes Schmidt's decisions, Amidžić responded that he does not know how such a process would even be implemented. "When it comes to election technologies, show me an expert who can, by May next year, conduct a public procurement process worth BAM 112 million, complete all necessary procedures, and secure a supplier capable of producing the scanners they claim will ensure greater transparency," Amidžić said. He questioned who would deliver and install this equipment across all polling stations by then, noting that it would only be possible if the equipment was already produced. "I will personally be checking the production date of those scanners. Does anyone really believe they can be manufactured in such a short timeframe? And on the other hand, is there any public institution capable of conducting such a large procurement process so quickly?" he asked. Amidžić firmly denied claims that his political party has any issue with election technologies, pointing out that such equipment had already been used in Doboj and Zvornik, he added, where the party achieved even stronger election victories. "The issue is not election technology. The issue is where those BAM 112 million are going and who decided to spend them this way. Whose equipment is it, and who is supplying it?" Amidžić emphasized. He reiterated that he will not accept these imposed decisions. "Whatever we can do to obstruct these processes, we will do it. We will not accept them. Imagine my deputy happily signing off on a transfer of funds to the Channel Islands. I would never agree to sign that, not a chance. And he's celebrating the fact that BAM 112 million will be spent on equipment that’s already been produced," Amidžić concluded.