Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, borrows 350 million euros from the London Stock Exchange to cover its budget deficit, but critics say the process is not transparent and may be too expensive.

RS Prime Minister Radovan Visković, of the party led by Milorad Dodik, a Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said issuance of RS securities did not represent additional debt but was regularly budgeted for .

“Serbia and Montenegro are doing the same. And the rest of the normal world. Everything is public, everything is transparent, ”said Visković.

The budget of the Republika Srpska is planned at 3.8 billion Bosnian marks – BM, which represents about 1.9 billion euros. It only has nearly 1 billion BM in its own income, which also includes money from social funds and pension funds.

According to longtime banker Milan Radovic, this type of debt is not transparent and capital investment is expensive and unnecessary, Reports N1. The RS government “continues to spend without a clear strategy on how we will pay off these debts,” he added.

“Because in three years, the rent will be more than 1.15 billion BM”, he said, stressing that these questions should be decided by the National Assembly of the RS and not by the government of the RS.

“If we know that the annual debt repayment this year is around 600 million BM. Next year, around 850 million BM. And in 2023, at over $ 1 billion, we see that debt repayment from regular budget revenue will amount to up to 60% of regular budget revenue, ”said Jelena Trivić, opposition party member for democratic progress (PDP). (Željko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr)