Here’s how much communal services will become more expensive in Banja Luka.
The Assembly of the city of Banjaluka is in extraordinary session today voted to raise the prices of communal services, and now water will be 12 percent more expensive for the people of Banja Luka, waste collection and removal will be 24 percent more expensive, and heating will cost citizens 19 percent more.
City manager Bojan Kresojević said yes The city of Banja Luka continues to bear the greater burden of rising prices.
“It is always difficult to make a decision that anything goes to the burden of the citizens, but what I must emphasize is that twice as much goes to the burden of the communal companies and the City of Banja Luka. Ten million KM was taken from the backs of the citizens at today’s session of the City Assembly at our suggestion Banja Luka. I think that it is something that is our obligation and responsibility and that, as in the previous period, we successfully prevented price increases,” said the city manager.
He noted that the price of electricity in the participation in household expenses in the consumer basket, food and transportation costs is what currently makes the life of the citizens of Banja Luka the most difficult.
“And in that sense I am in favor of reducing the VAT rate on foodstuffs. I think that this is the right solution to neutralize the key problem that generates inflation in the Republic of Srpska, but again, in addition to that, we are aware that the required increase of almost 60 percent for heating would certainly be in that zone that burdens the budget of the citizens of Banja Luka and our reduction to 19 percent it shows the responsibility we have shown as a unit of the local community,” said Kresojević.
On the other hand, as he emphasized, the company “Eko Toplane” did not submit information about its operations until this session.
“There are numerous problems in communication with this company and I could agree with the comments of some of the councilors that the partnership with the partner who is the majority owner in this company should be reconsidered. The city owns 49 percent, the private partner has 51 percent and a change that would mean that The city being the majority owner requires a decision of the Assembly of the company in which the private partner has the majority of votes. This is something that is challenging to negotiate, but what the City Assembly told the private partner today is that it cannot cooperate and do business with the City in this way. That is one side of the story, and the other is our responsibility that the heating does not depend on who the private partner is, and I think we have shown that responsibility today, which is that the biggest burden is borne by the City,” concluded the city manager.
(World)