In almost half of the municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, citizens lack access to information about public spending due to the extremely low level of budget transparency in these areas. This is one of the key findings of a study on budget transparency in local governments, conducted by the Centre for Research and Studies – GEA from Banja Luka.
“Budget transparency at the local level is essential for more efficient, accountable, and inclusive management of public funds,” said Vladislav Jakovljević, president of GEA, underlining that these findings highlight the need for greater involvement of civil society, the media, and other stakeholders in budget processes, as well as the importance of informing the public more effectively about these processes.
The research findings were presented in Sarajevo at a roundtable titled “How Open Are Local Budgets in Bosnia and Herzegovina and How Can They Be Made More Transparent?” The event is part of the LENS project – Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society Organisations for Monitoring Public Budgets – funded by the European Union and implemented by the Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN), Futura, and GEA.
The research was conducted in 143 local self-government units across Bosnia and Herzegovina, of which 79 were in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and 64 in the Republika Srpska (RS). Leila Bičakčić, the director of CIN, explained that this was the first study of this kind to cover all municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also noted that the results will serve as a basis for developing further analyses and recommendations aimed at improving budget transparency in municipalities and cities, as well as increasing the involvement of civil society in this process.
The research aimed to assess whether local public administration authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina fully, timely, and systematically publish all relevant budget information and documents. Municipalities and cities could score a maximum of 75 points based on the availability of this data.
Only four percent of local governments scored around 60 points, while 44 percent of municipalities and cities scored less than 15 points, indicating a very poor level of budget transparency. The municipalities and cities with the highest budget data transparency were Ilijaš, Šamac, Tešanj, Bihać, and Laktaši, while the lowest scores were given to Istočni Stari Grad, Ravno, Dobretići, Istočni Drvar, and Istočni Mostar.
The average score for all the local self-government units included in the study was 32.81 out of a possible 75 points, which is well below 50 percent on the success scale.
“The Municipality of Ilijaš has a well-organised and active website that provides easy and quick access to all available data. With just one click, users can access information about the budget, drafts, reports, and other documents. For the past ten years, the Municipality of Ilijaš has been preparing a citizens’ budget, allowing everyone to see how the funds are planned and spent,” said Merima Osmanović, Assistant Mayor for Economy and Finance in the Municipality of Ilijaš.
Velimir Andrić, Assistant Mayor for Finance of the Municipality of Šamac, which has shown a high level of budget transparency, stated that maintaining this process is not difficult when there is a strong willingness and commitment from all administrative staff, including the mayor, assistants, and other employees. He highlighted that the key to strengthening budget transparency is involving citizens in both the planning and implementation of the budget.
“We need to be more creative and innovative in our approach to engaging citizens. There is no simple formula for encouraging participation in public discussions and similar activities. In some rural areas, you may need to visit people in person or invite them to a meeting. There are different models for doing this, but each local community must understand how to engage with the people who live there,” said Andrić.
Representatives from the associations of municipalities and cities in both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS) also attended the roundtable. They emphasised that the research on budget transparency would help them develop initiatives to improve budget preparation and execution in local self-government units. According to the associations, factors hindering transparency include the lack of budget data on municipal and city websites, inconsistent legal provisions, and low citizen engagement in decision-making processes.
Based on the research findings, Marko Martić, Executive Director of GEA, emphasised the need to focus on improving budget transparency in local self-government units in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the level of transparency has been declining since 2012.
“The key to achieving budget transparency is the commitment of the entire team, led by the local self-government, to drive this improvement forward. This is a crucial prerequisite for elevating budget transparency to a higher level,” concluded Martić.
