Bosnia can't meet IMF terms for new funds before October vote - PM
By Daria Sito-Sucic
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia's governments are unlikely to meet the terms set by the International Monetary Fund for getting new funds, Prime Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda said on Wednesday, because they will campaigning for October's general election.
An IMF mission arrived in Bosnia last week to review the country's progress in fulfilling the terms of a two-year agreement, which could provide Bosnia with as much as 380 million euros (301 million pounds). Two-thirds of that has already been disbursed.
If Bosnia passes the review, the IMF will recommend to its executive board that it around 132 million Bosnian marka (53.6 million pounds) be distributed to help the country's two autonomous regions plug their budget deficits.
Bevanda said the national Fiscal Council, over which he presides and which includes the state and regional prime ministers and finance ministers, could not agree a new Letter of Intent with the lender.
"The deadlines defined by the IMF cannot be technically implemented because this is election time," he told a news conference. That meant it was unclear whether the regional or national governments would pass the necessary laws.
Bosnia will hold parliamentary and presidential elections on Oct. 12. Its two regions, the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, are the main recipients of the IMF aid, but they are also unwilling to make unpopular moves before the vote.
In June, the IMF doubled its typical aid tranche to Bosnia to about 191 million euros to help the country cope with damage from a devastating floods in May, the worst since records begun.
"A lot of issues have been agreed ... we need a few additional steps to reach a solution," Bevanda said, adding that talks between the IMF, the national and regional governments and state agencies would continue in coming weeks.
The outstanding issues might be sorted out by the end of September, he said, unless the IMF insisted on "some deadlines that are impossible to stick to".
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Larry King)
