Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Communications and Transport, Edin Forto, expressed disappointment over the continued lack of a solution to the financial crisis at the country’s public broadcaster, BHRT, following a recent session of the Council of Ministers.
During the meeting, ministers were expected to address the broadcaster’s debt to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), but the issue was ultimately sidelined, highlighting a deeper absence of political commitment.
“For quite some time now, we’ve been going in circles on the BHRT issue, and the situation keeps getting more complicated. At the moment, BHRT’s accounts are frozen due to lawsuits filed by its employees over unpaid social contributions,” Forto said.
He acknowledged that he had attempted to generate political momentum to resolve the crisis, but those efforts proved unsuccessful.
“I received a number of explanations, mostly technical. But what I know from experience is that when there is will, solutions are possible. Right now, there simply isn’t any will to help BHRT,” he stated.
Reporters also questioned Forto about another unresolved issue: the compensation owed to the construction company “Viaduct” after the government of Republika Srpska (RS) lost an international arbitration case over the termination of a hydroelectric plant concession.
The matter had been included in a set of proposals submitted by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which sought broader information on arbitration cases. However, these proposals were voted down by ministers from the RS entity.
“One of the items on the agenda was a request from the Presidency for us to adopt a series of their conclusions, including details on this and other arbitration cases. It made it to the agenda, but ministers from RS refused to support it,” Forto explained.
In closing, Forto voiced regret that the current composition of the Council of Ministers is unwilling—or unable—to support the country’s struggling public broadcaster.
“We continue to cherry-pick topics like it’s a Swedish buffet, while numerous urgent issues are left unresolved. Unfortunately, this Council of Ministers simply lacks the capacity to move things forward,” he concluded.
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Source: klix