The BiH entity Republika Srpska will have to pay off 4 billion and 23 million marks in foreign debt over this year and the next two years. The RS government is also planning new borrowing of half a billion BAM from an unknown source. Another bond issuance has also been announced. Despite all this, the authorities of Republika Srpska claim that all obligations are being serviced regularly and that the entity has never been more economically and financially stable.

“Of course, it can be endangered, considering that they are hiding who they are borrowing from. And that is not even legal. On the other hand, where will they get the money from? Everything is being done under the table, behind closed doors, from whoever is willing to give them money. This debt is unsustainable, yet they continue borrowing,” said economic analyst Svetlana Cenic.

Her colleague Aleksa MilojeviC stated that the entire population could leave and the economy could collapse, but the government would remain as long as it had access to loans.

“Of course, this is only short-term. When they can no longer repay, what happens everywhere else will happen here too—foreigners will take over, seizing our natural resources. They will take over Elektroprivreda,” he added.

Prime Minister Radovan ViSkoviC, speaking on RTRS, confirmed that RS would take on new debt of half a billion marks but refused to disclose the source of these funds.

“Today, at the government session, we accepted funds of 250 million euros for this year. Everything is in line with the decisions of the National Assembly. The repayment period is 10 years. The interest rate is 5%. But you won’t get an answer, so don’t bother asking who gave us the money. Our friends gave it to us,” he said.

Opposition leader Jelena Trivic, who was one of the fiercest critics of the government's borrowing practices while she was a member of parliament, stated that the public debt situation is not alarming. However, she pointed out that the bigger issue is that economic policy has been reduced to “finding loans to cover old debts and maintaining social peace at all costs by increasing public sector salaries.” Commenting on the new borrowing from an undisclosed source, she stressed that public finances cannot be kept secret and that investigative bodies should examine this matter.

“This is not a reason for the government to hide who it borrowed from. If everything is in order and legal, I don’t understand why it is being kept secret. And given that I have been commenting on this behavior by the RS government for a long time, it is becoming increasingly irritating. We strongly condemn it. This is a matter for prosecutors,” Trivic said.