ECONOMIC REFORM AND RECONSTRUCTION
- Impact of NATO strikes on the RS Economy: At the time of writing, it was not possible to make a clear assessment of the impact of NATO strikes on the RS economy. The RS government sources have warned about large job losses if the strikes continue. My Office has received confirmation that both imports from and exports to FRY have declined substantially. As a large share of RS exports is destined towards the FRY, a decrease in production would likely bring job losses. Declining imports potentially also have an effect on the government budget. However, as the RS does not levy customs on imports from the FRY (only a one- percent administrative fee), this effect will be small. Finally, it should be noted that a depreciation of the Yugoslav Dinar, which is expected as a result of the war effort of the Yugoslav government, could have substantial negative effects on personal income as the Dinar is still in wide use in the RS.
- Impact of the current political situation on BiH economy: Despite the current political situation, donor commitment in BiH has not faltered. On-going projects have continued, although probably at a slower pace in the RS due to travel restrictions and the closure of international offices. While new projects have not yet suffered significant delays, many reform initiatives and negotiations virtually came to a standstill in early March due to the events in the RS (dismissal of President Poplasen and Brcko award) and the Croat moratorium following the death of the Federation Minister of Interior. If unaltered, this situation could have a detrimental impact on donor aid.
- Reconstruction: Infrastructure issues related to promoting freedom of movement continue to require the attention of my Office. The reconstruction effort continued at a steady pace, with important projects under implementation all over the country, mainly in the transport, energy, water and housing sectors. The repair of the water supply systems mainly focused on smaller towns and villages.
- Bridge reconstruction has begun at Gradiska and Brod. The EC-funded bridge at Gradiska is expected to be closed for reconstruction around mid-June and de-mining activities are now being carried out. While the Gradiska Bridge is closed for reconstruction, the border crossing at Novi will be opened as a 1st category border crossing point to allow an alternative access point to BiH. Reconstruction of the bridge at Gradiska is expected in six months. The USAID-funded bridge at Brod was closed for construction early February and is expected to be opened in May 2000.
- The uncertainties about the political situation and the strike against Yugoslavia nevertheless contributed to a slow down in the progress of many projects in the Republika Srpska (e.g. Brcko). It should be noted that the absence of the international community in the Republika Srpska at a time when projects are usually prepared for the summer reconstruction period is expected to have a negative impact on its ability to proceed in 1999. The share of the Republika Srpska represented about a quarter of the total reconstruction effort during the period under consideration, but this is likely to decrease due to the above-mentioned delay in the preparation and signing of new projects.
Reform of Public Utilities and Implementation of Annex 9
- Power: Much progress was made on the establishment of a Joint Power Coordination Centre ( JPCC ) in accordance with the agreement signed by the three currently existing Elektroprivedas on November 3,1998 ( "the Agreement )."Energoinvest building in Sarajevo (Pofalici) was chosen as the location of the Centre ,which was registered as a business association, established by the Elektroprivredas (EP) . The Statutes, The Book of Rules and manpower requirements have been prepared and approved by the JPCC Board of Directors. The fulfillment of the Stage I of the Agreement , by March 31, 1999, resulted in the release of funding, by the World Bank, for the Second Electric Power Reconstruction Project. It is recognised that some functions would not be fully operational at the beginning of JPCC existence. This is mainly due to the lack of SCADA system implementation and a gradual rehabilitation of 400 kV transmission system.
- Railways: The Draft Law on the Organisation of the Federation BiH Railways has not yet been adopted. It has been revised with the assistance of my Office and is still under discussion. A Commission was established to work on this Law. The task of this Commission is to provide a working version and submit this to the Federation Ministry of Transport and Communications for further action by the Federation Government and the Federation Parliament. From a recent meeting with members of my staff, it clearly appeared that the main unresolved issue between the two Federation partners related to the creation of only one rail infrastructure company instead of the two which are currently existing. in the Federation. It is hoped that this issue will be solved at the forthcoming Federation Forum. Meanwhile, with the assistance of my Office, a cooperation has developed between the railway companies of the Entities. An agreement was reached upon the between the Entities of the existing rolling stock, following an inventory to be made under the supervision of U.I.C. ( the International Union of Railways ).
The BiH Joint Public Railways Corporation (BHZJK) has done some effective work, especially in the preparation of a project which is under consideration by the European Investment bank. The Corporation also worked upon the finalisation of its statutes. However, the issue of its registration has not yet been resolved. and this clearly hampers its activity. It is acknowledged that new legislation is necessary to permit the registration of Public Corporations under Annex 9 and drafts have been prepared to that effect. However, the non-functioning of the Commission on Public Corporations, which resulted from the political uncertainties in Republika Srpska, did not permit to reach a final solution and has similarly delayed the programme of work which was proposed to the Commission for the first months of 1999. Draft statutes for the Corporation have been revised and are under further review.
- Telecommunications: Since the intervention from my Office in December 1998 to re-establish inter-entity telephone links, developments in the field of Telecommunications have been encouraging. There are now over 600 inter-entity links operational. On 18 February 1999, the Council of Ministers made the first appointments (three full-time members and two of the three part-time members) to the Management Board of the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency. At the time of writing, however, circumstances have prevented the Telecommunications Agency from taking up its activities. The numbering plan for BiH is being worked on intensively and it is expected that in the next reporting period the numbering plan will be in place.
- Post: Inter-Entity mail exchanges have continued to take place without interruption. With the assistance of an expert provided by the Government of the Netherlands, a draft of a new State- level Postal Law has been completed. It will be discussed in April by all parties at the headquarters of the Universal Postal Union in Bern. Discussions are on-going with various parties to identify funds for the much- needed reconstruction of this sector.
Macro-economic reform and transition
- Economic Task Force: The Economic Task Force (ETF) remains a central forum for seeking and providing guidance to the donor community for targeting as well as applying conditions to economic assistance. Most recently, the members of the ETF reviewed and approved the conditions for the 1999 donors' conference prepared by my Office. These include satisfactory progress on minority returns; implementation of the property laws; full implementation of the BiH Customs Law and extra customs duties according to the decision by the Council of Ministers; a plan by the entities on the liquidation and reform of the payment bureaus; improved progress in the privatisation process, specifically the full functioning of all Privatisation Agencies and harmonization of the entity laws with the Framework Law as well as the enforcement of its provisions; and funding of public television by passing respective legislation, which is the responsibility of the Entities.
- Konvertible Marka: The KM continues to gain wide public acceptance. The depreciation of the Yugoslav Dinar (YUD) and the Croatian Kuna have convinced people to hold KM, the most stable currency in the region. Starting 1 April 1999, the KM would be available to buy or sell at four major European banks in three countries Bank Austria and Raiffeisen Zentralbank in Austria; Dresdner Bank in Germany; and Credit Suisse in Switzerland. A recent public opinion survey indicated that 86 percent of those polled in Banja Luka said that they trusted the KM the most against the Kuna or the Yugoslav Dinar. An overwhelming majority in Livno, a town in the Herzegovina region where the Kuna has sentimental attachment, said the same. In the Republika Srpska, the total stock of money is equally spread between the KM and the YUD. In addition, the payment of taxes in that Entity is equally spread between the KM and the YUD. The government is paying pensions and salaries to its employees in equal proportions of the KM and the YUD.
- Payment Bureau: The reform in this arena is being led by an International Advisory Group (IAG), with representatives from major international organisations and donors including my Office. The IAG reached agreement with the local authorities on a strategy to dismantle and eliminate the Payment Bureaus from the BiH payment system by December 2000. The current tasks of the Payment Bureaus will be transferred to the appropriate institutions. The Payment Bureaus (the ZPP and the ZAP in the Federation, and the SPP in the RS) are an inheritance of the Social Bookkeeping Service (SDK) of the former Yugoslavia. They have monopoly control over all domestic payments and cash deposits. This monopoly position, together with the non-transparency and high transaction fees charged by the payment bureaus, cause high risk for private enterprises and prevent the development of a strong commercial banking sector. In both the Federation and Republika Srpska, a Governing Board will be established to oversee the process of dismantling and finally liquidating the payment bureaus. The functions of the Payment Bureaus will be transferred to commercial banks and government institutions. This transition will be smooth.
- Customs and Trade: My Office has made good progress in creating a single economic space in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the Council of Ministers adopted several by-laws to the Customs Policy Law in January, the most important parts of the legislative framework for customs are now in place. As a major step towards full implementation of the customs laws, both Entities have agreed to replace the illegal duties (prelevmans) by additional import duties at the State level. This has been a difficult issue where both Entities were not able to agree on how to protect domestic industries. The last step will be the cancellation of the preferential customs treatment of imports from Croatia and Yugoslavia. A decision by the Council of Ministers to abolish these treatments and fully implement the Customs law is anticipated soon. To further normalize and encourage external trade, preliminary work has started on a trade agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. A three-member delegation, appointed by the Presidency of BiH, has started the negotiations with a first visit to Zagreb. Following the Ministerial Agreement of August last year, the working group on harmonization of indirect taxes has also made good progress. Harmonized sales and excise tax rates will remove an important incentive for tax evasion and impediments for internal trade in BiH.
- Privatisation: My Office remains committed to assist and accelerate the privatisation process to boost economic growth led by the private sector. It will be recalled that I imposed the BiH Framework Law on Privatisation of Enterprises and Banks (Framework Law) in July 1998 to ensure a fair and transparent process and to allow displaced persons and refugees to participate without discrimination. I am, however, still concerned about the attention given to the participation of displaced persons and refugees in both Entities.
- The Federation privatisation laws have been amended in early 1999 to bring them into compliance with the Framework Law. The amendments are with respect to the reference date (1991) for citizens to receive vouchers. Further amendments are needed to bring the laws fully in line with the Framework Law and to iron out inconsistencies. Possible adjustments of the RS legislation are under discussion.
- I established an independent Privatisation Monitoring Commission to monitor the compliance of the privatisation process with the GFAP and the Framework Law. The Commission is also tasked with providing expert advice to me on privatisation-related matters. I have appointed three highly qualified and experienced individuals financially supported by the Governments of the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA. The first meeting of the Commission took place in January 1999.
- Another important legal body for the transition to a market economy is the Securities Commission. The Federation Government has appointed four qualified Commissioners and I have, according to the Federation Law, on Securities Commission, appointed the fifth and international member. The Federation Securities Commission will be inaugurated in April 1999.
- Anti-fraud: Work on anti-fraud is progressing well. Following the first in a series of seminars with judges, prosecutors and police from both Entities, in December 1998 in Germany and Austria, which focused on successful western-based investigative and prosecution systems which utilize the anti-corruption task force concept, plans are underway to proceed with similar conferences. The Steering Board approved a Comprehensive Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Anti-Fraud Unit of my Office. Aspects of the strategy include elements of economic, legal and judicial, police and institutional reform. The strategy utilizes four pillars--eliminate opportunities, transparency and reports, controls and penalties, and education -- to provide the tools needed to identify, develop and implement changes in the structure and procedures of government to eliminate or significantly reduce corrupt activities and heighten public awareness.
- Statistics: In the framework of the joint institutions, the BiH Statistics Institute established with a decision of the Council of Ministers in August 1998, through the strong support from the International Community and my Office is now fully operational. The management composed of representatives of the three constituent peoples of BiH is increasingly cooperating with a view of integrating aggregate countrywide data. The first Statistical Bulletin was published in March 1999. It contains aggregate data on various key sectors such as agriculture, forestry, construction, education, transport and communication. The second, containing data on employment and wages, traditionally very important indicators, has been finalized and is ready for distribution. The third is in preparation and will contain aggregate figures on the same subjects and partial information on average prices. Additionally, the fourth Statistical Bulletin planned for June 1999 will contain new data on industry.
- Agriculture: My Office is responsible for chairing the Agricultural Task Force, which is mandated to coordinate between the international community and local authorities on long-term rehabilitation and development of the agricultural sector. It has two components. The Steering Committee, comprised of members from key international organisations and Ministries of Agriculture from both Entities, reviews agricultural initiatives. The Open Forum elicits ideas from members of the international community interested in the agriculture sector.
- Mostar: Following a successful restart of the operations at the Mostar airport in the last quarter of 1998, a six-month extension of my arbitration decision has been ordered to carry out the transfer of the airport authority to the joint authorities of the City of Mostar by September 1999. Rehabilitation and re-equipment projects in the value of $5.9 million are under way or in preparation and should ensure the airport's profitability over the long term.
- Civil aviation: The draft of the Civil Aviation Law was, for the second time, submitted to the Council of Ministers on 17 November, 1998. No significant action has been taken to adopt this act.
- COMSFOR delegated the authority and responsibility for management of the upper airspace(between FL 330 and Fl 450) over Bosnia and Herzegovina(BiH) to the BiH Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). A plan for the control of this airspace by DCA is critical because the DCA is in desperate need of revenue and, without such a plan, EUROCONTROL is unable to distribute the overflight revenues which have been collected in the past as well as those payable currently. The failure to resolve agreements for the provision of air traffic control also adversely impacts the ability of BiH to join the European Civil Aviation Conference(ECAC).
- The European Commission has granted guaranteed funding of a project to be conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This project was accepted by BiH DCA in December, 1998, and is intended to improve the organisation, management and competence of the DCA, as well as to update the Civil Aviation Master Plan (CAMP).
- During February, 1999, as a result of the urging of my office and SFOR, the BiH DCA signed the tender for the Emergency Transportation Reconstruction Project-Air Navigation Component (BP 12). This project includes a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the amount of about $3.2 million U.S. and will include critical navigation aids for locations at Tuzla, Mostar and Omarska.
- Air traffic, in terms of both cargo and passengers, was increasing rapidly prior to the closure of the airspace on 24 March, 1999. During January, 1999, passenger traffic in the Federation grew 28 percent over the comparable period in 1998. Although some air corridors have subsequently been reopened for civil aviation, the closure has adversely affected civil aviation in BiH to an extent that cannot yet be measured.
- Air carriers continue to increase service at Sarajevo International Airport. The reconstruction of the passenger terminal and the installation of improved airfield lighting continues.
- Tuzla airport currently has no commercial air service. However, in January, 1999, the Government of Tuzla-Podrinje Canton requested a study of the airport infrastructure by a U.S. firm. This study has as its objective the improvement of the operational capability of the airport.
- Banja Luka Airport recently established a Terminal Management Area. In addition, construction has been commenced on a new technical site for the airport. This project was sponsored by the EC. SATAIR, the first airline based in the Republika Srpska, continues to operate scheduled service. A new airline, Air Srpska, has commenced scheduled service.
- At Mostar Airport, infrastructure and rehabilitation projects are proceeding as planned. The airfield lighting project, which will permit 24 hour per day operations, is expected to be completed by August, 1999. The new air traffic control tower is in the final design phase. The EC and Dutch government have financed overall improvements to the airport in the sum of $5.9 million U.S. for 1999. The financial condition of the Mostar Airport continues to be a significant concern. The accumulated debt of the Interim Mostar Airport Authority amounts to about 125,000 DM. Since the airport is currently operating at a significant deficit, this debt will increase over the next several months. In March, I extended the term of the interim authority until 16 September, 1999.
- Military Matters: We have continued in our efforts to improve the professionalisation of the Entity Armed Forces. There is pleasing co-operation between my office, SFOR and the OSCE in this area. And there has been some progress, although it has not been as rapid as we would wish. Current events in Kosovo have slowed progress in all military matters, as in so many others, but the restraint demonstrated by the VRS, despite some severe pressure from hard-liners, has been impressive and demonstrated a welcome degree of military professionalism.
- Demining: Progress continues to be made in the sphere of demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly with regard to the Slovenian Trust Fund. This fund, which was set up in March 1998, has become the focus for funding demining and victim assistance for the years ahead. Donors are being encouraged to contribute money through the Slovenian Trust Fund, in order to draw maximum benefit from the "double your money" mechanism, sponsored by the US Government. Their target is to raise $14m by the first week in December 1999. To date there is $1.7m credited to the Trust and a further $7.4m has been pledged by donors. Any desired focus by donors on money transmitted through the Fund remains attached, so there is nothing to be lost but everything to be gained by using this avenue. Work continues to strengthen the status and efficacy of the mine action centres and the de-mining commission.
- Limited demining occurred in the southerly areas not affected by seasonal bad weather. The Entity Armed Forces Teams did not commence full operations until 19 April. They have been set an ambitious target of clearing 2million square metres this year, by the Joint Military Commission (JMC). The total area surveyed and cleared of mines between January - March 1999 was 248,234 square metres. This included clearing 189 houses and destroying 184 mines. Mine awareness training programmes continue to be delivered by ICRC/UNICEF, and the underlying trend is that mine incidents are decreasing, although sadly, 6 people (including 1 child) have been killed and 5 (including 1 child) injured during this period.
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