The Office for the Audit of Institutions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina carried out monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations from the performance audit report “Management of Commodity Reserves in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, published in 2022.
The goal was to examine the activities undertaken and to assess the extent to which the given recommendations were implemented. Monitoring included the activities of the Government of the Federation of BiH and cantonal governments, as well as the Federal and Cantonal Directorates of Commodity Reserves, undertaken in the period from December 2022 to September 2024, on the implementation of a total of 11 recommendations.
The monitoring results show that certain activities have been undertaken to implement the recommendations, but that no significant progress has been made in the subject area. Most of the entities responsible for the implementation of the recommendations have undertaken initial or partial activities on their implementation. The parliamentary commission responsible for the audit did not consider the performance audit report, whose recommendations were subject to monitoring, which is why no conclusions were made that would additionally oblige the competent institutions for effective implementation.
Activities on the drafting of a new law on federal commodity reserves have begun. However, it was not prepared by the deadline and submitted to the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for adoption. There was also a lack of cooperation between the Government of the Federation of BiH and the cantonal governments in terms of harmonizing legal solutions and clarifying issues of importance for efficient and coordinated management of commodity reserves.
Most Directorates for Commodity Reserves prepared commodity balances, but they were not fully adequate. In addition, they created programs/plans for commodity reserves that do not contain all the elements prescribed by law. There was a lack of appropriate cooperation between the Federal and Cantonal Directorates of Commodity Reserves in the planning, procurement and allocation of commodity reserves.
The majority of directorates did not procure goods in a timely manner for the needs of goods reserves, and continue to interpret and apply the Law on Public Procurement differently. Safeguarding and economical storage of commodity reserves is still a challenge.
Acknowledging the fact that commodity reserves are of general interest for the Federation and the cantons, the Audit Office considers that it is necessary to undertake additional activities for the implementation of the given recommendations. The above will ensure the establishment of a functional, efficient and economical system of managing commodity reserves.
