SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has said that the SNSD Executive Committee concluded yesterday that the economic situation in Republika Srpska is stable, even though there are some elements of decline due to the coronavirus epidemic.
“The SNSD economic policy is directed towards aiding the economy, preserving jobs and salaries,” Dodik told reporters after a meeting of the party’s Executive Committee.
He has said that a new package of aid to the economy will be implemented in September and will pertain to personal incomes and investment cycles.
“We will continue implementing projects of construction of motorways, reconstruction of main and regional roads in Srpska, for which purpose BAM 100 million will be allocated, and will continue implementing other capital investments, including electrical energy projects,” Dodik said.
He has said that around 10,400 people lost their jobs, but that 9,199 people got jobs.
“This is 1,200 jobs less, and when we see it, then we have the least job loss in the region. This is part of a successful policy conducted by the Republika Srpska Government,” Dodik says.
Dodik has said that payment of salaries and pensions is guaranteed in Srpska until the end of the year.
He has said that several funds have been formed as a political and economic response to the crisis.
“This is, first of all, the Compensation Fund which made a series of important decisions and directed more than BAM 40 million to the health sector. The Guarantee Fund provided guarantees for loans to businesses totaling BAM 238 million in five banks. This is a good response which will enable an increased economic activity,” Dodik said.
According to him, the growth of GDP in Srpska in the first quarter of the year was 1.4 percent.
“The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund estimate that GDP will drop to minus 5 in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus, but the prognosis is not coming true here. We believe that the decline of the GDP will not be greater than minus 2 at the end of the year and that the GDP rate will be around zero,” Dodik said.
He said that Srpska’s indebtedness rate is 55 percent, which is significantly below the indebtedness rate of the countries of the region and below the 60 percent rate prescribed by the EU.
Regarding the epidemiological situation in Srpska, Dodik has said that it is still complex, but that the existing measures will not be either reduced or widened.
He has said that a vaccination plan will also be made.
“We are not developing a coronavirus vaccine, but at this moment we support a vaccination plan which will be mandatory for citizens of Srpska. We will make an effort to procure a tested vaccine as soon as possible. As far as a Russian vaccine is concerned, I think that this is something they conducted in keeping with procedures and they will first give it to their population which indicates that it should be trusted,” Dodik said.
TST
