High Representative to Vet New Ministers

The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, on Monday announced that from now on the OHR will extend the process of vetting to the state-level ministers of Treasury and Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Entity-level finance ministers, education ministers at the cantonal and Entity levels and the refugee ministers at the Entity and state levels, before they take office.

The High Representative said he is taking this decision in order to raise standards of public administration in BiH. “BiH will fail to make the best use of its resources, and fail to attract the confidence of the foreign investors which the economy needs if it doesn’t enjoy standards of public administration that are on a par with those elsewhere in Europe,” he said.  “BiH will only be able to raise standards in these institutions if key ministers are committed to them and personally embody them.”

The Ministers of Defence, Interior and Justice, at the Entity and Cantonal levels will continue to be vetted according to existing arrangements  

Issues that will be examined ahead of appointments, and which could call into question an individual’s ability to serve in a given position, include:

o       Indictment by the ICTY

o       Criminal record

o       A record of obstructing Peace Implementation

o       A track record of serious incompetence or mismanagement.