The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, and the Privatisation Monitoring Commission congratulate the Federation Privatisation Agency (FPA) for the opening of a satellite office of the FPA in Banja Luka. The competent authorities of both entities agreed to establish cross entity privatisation offices.
The Privatisation Monitoring Commission and the Office of the High Representative estimate that some 300,000 refugees and displaced persons eligible in the Federation have not yet claimed their vouchers. The High Representative expects that people who have been too afraid to cross the Inter Entity Boundary Line to claim their vouchers will now be able to do so.
The first Federation Privatisation Agency office in the Republika Srpska opened in Banja Luka on September 1st, 1999 and is temporarily located in the same building as USAid, Jevrejska bb. Although currently only equipped to give information on privatisation programs and eligibility, the office is authorised to open and maintain voucher accounts and to conduct voucher transactions.
The opening of this office will enable individuals to participate in the privatisation process in the Federation. The vouchers may be used to purchase socially owned flats in the Federation and shares in privatised companies or investment funds.
In accordance with the agreement of both Entities, the High Representative expects that this same principal will now be followed by the Republika Srpska Directorate for Privatisation. This will allow eligible displaced persons in the Federation to claim and use their privatisation vouchers from the Republika Srpska.