INTERVIEW: DRAŠKO DALIĆ, PRIME MINISTER OF HERZEG BOSNIA COUNTY
Interviewed by: Ajdin BEGANOVIĆ
SARAJEVO, June 30 (ONASA) – Prime Minister of the Herzeg Bosnia County (HBC) Draško Dalić in an interview for ONASA Agency talks, among other things, about the level of employment in the county, measures that the Government of the HBC plans to undertake in the future, the cooperation with Croatia in the field of forestry …
ONASA: Are you satisfied with the level of employment in the area of HBC?
DALIĆ: Herzeg-Bosnia County on the day December 31, 2014 at the Employment Institute had registered 9.440 unemployed persons. Bearing in mind that our County has 18.909 active population, it is easy to conclude that the unemployment rate is 49.90%, the ratio of employed and unemployed almost 1:1, with what we are dissatisfied. Especially worrying is the fact that the biggest number of employed is related to the public service, public companies and institutions, catering, trade and service provision, while only a small number of employed works in production activities. In my past and future activities, I constantly stressed and will continue to emphasize that the unemployment and the emigration from the area of the HBC, particularly of young people, is the biggest problem in which resolution should be included all well-meaning individuals and organizations because we have to change this trend as soon as possible. Although I am aware that with the problem of unemployment and emigration are burdened all areas in BiH and the neighborhood, no one has the right to take this fact for granted, but we have to everything, that everyone in their communities create preconditions that the majority of people living in the area of the HBC and BiH think about staying and returning to their hometown, and one of the main preconditions is employment. Government as such exists exactly to solve problems by finding answers and offering concrete actions to solve the accumulated problems. We know that the government is not one that directly creates jobs but it is one that needs to create better conditions so that those who have interest could invest and thus create jobs, which would gradually decrease unemployment and emigration from the County.
One of the tasks outlined in the presentation and the program of the Government of the HBC is “work to restore faith in the possibility of a decent life in the areas of the County and the return of trust in the institutions of the County. First of all here we think of improving standards of living, reducing unemployment and stopping emigration.”
ONASA: What measures does the HBC Government plan to implement in the coming period to improve the business environment?
DALIĆ: In order to restore trust in the government institutions the HBC Government in the coming period will give special attention to complete opening of the public services towards the public, especially towards people who are engaged in activities which employ the unemployed. Public service will be organized in a way that in any case it should not be purpose in itself, but has to work in the service of the common good. In order to create the prerequisites for this we will adopt a new Law on Civil Servants, which will among other things, introduce long-term and short-term planning, reporting and analysis of work, and introduce a system of rewards and penalties. In the field of legislation we will use to maximum competences that the HBC Constitution gives us in the area of economy and development, safety, education and energy policy.
We will finish the procedure of drafting and adoption of the Spatial Plan, then draft and adopt the Strategy for Development of the HBC, the Strategy for Development of Agriculture and Food Industry, Development Strategy for Forestry and Wood Industry, Tourism Development Strategy, Strategy for Development of Road Transport, as well as a number of studies and analyzes in which the special attention will be given to the energy sector (renewable sources of energy and coal), transportation infrastructure and mineral raw materials and develop and adopt other missing documents, studies, strategies, programs and plans.
We will also adopt the primary and subordinate legislation to create conditions for a fully functioning administration and enable potential investors to without major problems invest in the County area, and one of the first laws to be adopted are the Law on Public Private Partnership and the Law on Concessions. Besides laws that will facilitate the ability of investment, we will draft and adopt the Law on Mini Hydro Power Plants, the Law on Road Traffic, Law on Tourism, the Law on Tourism Boards and Promotion of Tourism, Law on Crafts and other missing legislations.
We will pay special attention to the fight against crime and corruption. To effectively fight this social scourge are required well-trained, paid and coordinated police forces. The Government will give maximum support to the work of the police, prosecution and judiciary. In our work the starting point will be the principle of zero tolerance level to corruption, because the corruption impedes the development of enterprise environment and political culture, erodes public moral, culture and tradition as fundamental social values. We are ready to fight corruption in the public service under the principle “Involvement in corruption means dismissal.” Also, with coordinated activities of all services of the Government we will devote far more attention to even greater efficiency in the fight against illegal employment so that all those who are engaged in economic and other activities are in the same starting positions.
We have already taken the first steps for the formation of the Development Agency of the HBC with the aim to attract foreign investment, develop SMEs, to use the EU and other financial funds. It will be a service not only for local entrepreneurs and foreign investors, but also for the public sector in the field of the use of financial funds.
Also, we will form an Institute of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, which will among other things be of service to all those involved in agriculture and food industry.
Small and medium enterprises will be treated as a key driver of development in the County. We will encourage the development of business zones in all municipalities. We want SMEs in the near future to be the backbone of economic development as is the case in the EU countries.
By development of business incubators we will give a chance to good ideas, business which are at their beginning and those who have the market future. Here we primarily refer to the development of information and communication technology. It is an industry that in a short time, with the engagement of local minds with the corresponding initial community support could have significant export potential.
We will continue to encourage investment in property, land and buildings, inactive companies or in economic terms – brownfield investments. For these activities, we have to strengthen the work of the County’s Agency for Privatization and thus free trapped capital of former companies. Our task will be, as soon as possible to put into operation the economy development of the remaining assets through sale or through public-private partnerships.
ONASA: What are the capital projects?
DALIĆ: Given that the agriculture and food industry are currently leading activity in which are engaged a large number of family farms, natural and legal persons, putting all available land into the function of the agriculture development is one of the most important and most difficult projects given the current situation in which is agricultural land. First of all, there is a need to urgently approach the resolution of property rights, then the consolidation of farms and regulation of the water regime, that is, planning to draw up projects of drainage and irrigation of agricultural land. For us the capital project is also the formation of the Institute for Food and Veterinary Medicine, which will greatly facilitate and help in dealing with agricultural production in the area of the HBC.
Also we expect that in our region will be realized a number of projects in the energy field as well as the implementation of Phase II of the HE Orlovac that would include the construction of retention Čaprazlije, hydropower plant Kablići and Vrilo, as well as a large number of mini hydro power plants, then the implementation of projects of construction of wind turbines for which there is great interest of investors, as well as the implementation of projects that would finally give an answer to what purposed can be used large coal reserves, and we should not skip the construction of the TE Kongora and/or Čelebić with the respect of the highest environmental standards. Good transport links are an important precondition of economic development which is why this Government will give full attention to the implementation of projects such as highway or fast road Banja Luka-Split, fast road Travnik-Split as well as a gas pipeline along this road.
ONASA: Development of tourism?
DALIĆ: As the tourist offer in Herzeg Bosnia County, despite all the natural beauty and rich cultural and historical monuments, is poorly developed and there is little demand I have arranged a meeting with the people most responsible for the development and promotion of tourism in order to get informed about the current problems in the functioning of the Tourist Board and to with the common analysis of the situation in the tourism industry suggest some solutions. Among other things, we have concluded that the Tourist Board independently or in cooperation with other tourism boards has to do far more to promote our potentials while the line ministry has to urgently pass the necessary legislation to enable further activities on the development and promotion of tourism.
The development and promotion of our tourist potential is based on natural beauty and opportunities which offer to the development of tourism our eight rivers and six lakes, then dozens of mountains are not nearly used as much as could be achieved with certain investments. In addition, why not use people who achieve adequate success in the sport and who have close links with the development of tourism such as cycling and cycle tourism development.
Winter tourism in Kupres has gone the furthest way currently, however, it is also bothered by the lack of content and brevity of the season. On models of the developed tourism countries we have to know how to convert our rich history, culture and natural beauty into content which will have tourism potential. Since the development of this sector requires commitment and creativity of almost the entire community, especially businesses in the tourism industry, here the role of the Government will not be crucial, but we will certainly create a favorable environment.
ONASA: Forestry and wood industry
DALIĆ: At the presentation before the representatives of the Assembly of the HBC during the appointment of the Government, among other things when it comes to forestry and wood industry I ahve said the following: “Around 400.000 cubic meters per year of trees are cut down in our county. Most of this wood ends up as firewood or logs, timber or lumber. We need to find ways to add value to this resource and turn it into the final product and thus leave the bulk of the profits to the County, and not just be the raw material base for the development of the economy of neighboring counties. Last year’s export of BiH wood industry was more than a billion BAM and participates in the overall national exports by 11%. Our entrepreneurs have to be a significant part of these statistics and in that we have to strongly support them. We have to use the biomass from our forests and fields to produce heat and power in the cogeneration plants. We have one such successful business example in Livno. Why not do this and in other suitable locations?”
For these reasons, together with ŠGD “Hercegbosanske šume” d.o.o. Kupres, we have organized presentations so that experts in forestry from Croatia could share their many years of experience on the relations of forestry and wood industry. In any case, from them we learned that the compound of the forestry and wood industry has to be constantly present if we want to go further from our current situation in the timber industry. Their experience in securing wood assortments by type, quantity, quality and prices, depending on the degree of finalization are very interesting for our region. Also, we are currently in talks with interested investor from abroad who has production in EU countries and that in addition to products such as lumber, beams and other wood products with further processing of what remains after these products produces energy from biomass, pellets and finally from what remains produces organic fertilizer. Something similar would be launched in our region if after touring of a facility, meeting with their needs and our analysis of the usefulness of such a project for our region we make the decision to enter such project.
ONASA: Can economic experiences of Croatia as the member of the EU be used for progress in the County?
DALIĆ: Experiences in the ecoomy of Croatia as the EU member as well as the experience of other countries in the region are very helpful because why begin something from the stracth if we have positive examples, and if we are able to use their achievements and adapt them to our situation. It is better to learn from the mistakes of others rather than on one’s own, especially if they are willing, as they are, to share these experiences with us.
Currently, one of our employees is at a seminar in Croatia where upon completion he will receive the certificate for writing EU projects, and it is also highly educated person who speaks and writes several languages and has experience in project writing and is appointed to establish our Development Agency. In addition to this seminar, he is present in the work of development ageny in Croatia, thus we will have a person who will be well prepared for what follows. That is just some of what gives us the cooperation with neighbors.
In addition, in these countries lives a large number of successful people who are native to the area of the HBC and we have already contacted some of them and invited them to cooperate. Some of them have already responded and participate in a number of projects of interest to the economic development of the HBC.
ONASA: What are the biggest problems you face in the HBC?
DALIĆ: The biggest problem in Herzeg Bosnia County as well as in other areas of BiH is unemployment and the emigration of young people. It is difficult to talk about same reasons for leaving because we are seeing that some people and even families who were employed choose to go. It is hard to expect that we can offer them what the EU countries offer, but we have the obligation to, as soon as possible, try to start the economy, which is a major prerequisite for development and sustainability of other areas of life and even our community.
Some other problems we face are: the current way of budgeting that serves largely to finance the needs of the administration, which consumes about 80% of budgetary resources; insensitive, slow, inefficient and selfish administration; large debts of health care institutions; the high cost of education, poor organization of the school network and poor quality education in rural areas; high level of corruption in society; taking of the competence and the imposition of financial obligations from the level of the FBiH; poorly developed entrepreneurial spirit; underdeveloped economy; high number of young educated people after the end of their education their further action exclusively see in the public service. These are just some of the problems that are difficult to solve unless we all together engage in dealing with the economic situation, which is a precondition of all other problems. Together we have to look optimistically to the future and spread positive energy because pessimism and stories of some politicians and people that nothing is good, nothing can happen, it is too late for anything, is our current image that we have to change. (end)