I am pleased to participate in this year’s Business Forum, and I salute the organizers of this important event for gathering us to answer a critical question: “How to transform Brčko District into a regional development hub.”
We are all well aware of the attributes of Brčko District that have begun to attract investment. First among these is Brcko’s geographic advantages: its arable land, its location on the border of the European Union, on the Sava/Danube River network, and at the nexus of a future highway network that will connect Brcko with many of the country’s and the region’s largest cities.
To the geographic, we must add political advantages. Brcko is a self-governing unit which answers directly to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, so businesses in Brcko can expect two levels of regulations and taxation, rather than the three or four found elsewhere in BiH.
Finally, we should not forget the tradition of multi-ethnic harmony and cooperative governance which has been the rule in Brčko in these last decades, factors which make Brčko District a beacon for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We can agree that all of these factors make Brčko attractive for investment, but the question we have been encouraged to answer is not what makes Brčko attractive, but what will attract and keep investors in the District, transforming it into a regional development hub.
Put another way, how does Brčko move from being a place that is promising for business to one that delivers for business, now and in the future.
Brčko’s fortuitous location as a potential multi-modal transport hub needs to be matched with concrete action to develop the road, rail and port infrastructure which will make that hub a reality. This will involve hard choices, hard work and significant investment – but Brcko and her leaders are capable of all three.
Brčko’s consistent choice to be a business-friendly location, that engages in dialogue with employers and looks to grow the private sector, needs to be matched with effective governance that maintains the stable political environment Brčko is known for and that continues to build the foundation for private sector growth. To achieve this, Brčko will need to budget effectively and execute those budgets efficiently, all to construct the infrastructure and provide the services a growing district will need.
Make no mistake, taking good budgets from conception to execution, building infrastructure and providing public services all require effective and agile public administration and a modern civil service built to handle the challenges of today and tomorrow. To put it even more plainly, effective public administration and a modern civil service will require reform. Change is never easy, but it is possible. Here, too, I believe that Brčko’s leaders – in all branches of government – have what it takes to seize this historic opportunity.
When all these elements are in place, Brčko, investors, entrepreneurs, and citizens will create new jobs, and generate the profits that will drive economic growth. This in turn will generate the additional tax revenue needed to ensure that the Brčko which is a great place to work, has the social safety net that makes it a great place to live as well.
Will this be easy, no, but to paraphrase U.S. President Kennedy, we choose to do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
All in Brčko who wish to contribute to the successful completion of this hard work – in the executive and the legislature, in the government and the opposition, in the civil service, the non-governmental sector and the citizenry — will have my full support as Supervisor and the support of my team.
I wish you all every success, both here at this Forum and in your firms and institutions.
Thank you.
