Creating a favorable business environment for establishing new and expanding existing economic capacities has enabled Srbac to achieve a post-war milestone: employing over 3,000 workers, two-thirds of whom are engaged in the real sector.
This was highlighted by the head of the Department for Economy, Agriculture, and Social Affairs, Marko Mihojčić, who stated that by the end of last year, 3,054 workers were employed in this municipality, with numbers continuing to rise.
“In the past four years, 240 new jobs have been created, and this year alone, two new businesses have opened, employing around 100 workers. One of them is a shopping center in the Crnaja business zone, which has brought some major global brands to our municipality for the first time. Nearby, our largest economic entity, ‘Perutnina Ptuj,’ employs around 330 workers and has ongoing recruitment needs. Another investor is planning to build a production facility in this area,” said Mihojčić.
The reasons behind this success include incentives for opening new business facilities, favorable land purchase conditions, and employment subsidies.
“This led to us earning the BFC SEE certification last year, identifying us as one of the municipalities with the most favorable business environments. The effects are already evident as investors now find it much easier to decide to invest here, which was unimaginable a decade ago when Srbac faced economic and political instability,” Mihojčić added.
The number of entrepreneurial businesses is also steadily increasing. By the end of last year, there were 280 entrepreneurial entities, about ten more than the previous year, and this number is expected to grow significantly by the end of this year.
“A key driver of this growth is the employment subsidies provided by the Employment Bureau of Republika Srpska and the municipality of Srbac. Recently, a ranking list was published where 11 individuals from our municipality received incentives to register new businesses. Additionally, the municipality plans to launch its own subsidy program for this purpose by the end of December,” Mihojčić explained.
The improved business climate has also been influenced by the establishment of a new Department for Strategic Planning, Development Management, and Investments. Its staff assist citizens daily, from completing entrepreneur registrations in just one day to applying for various projects and issuing permits and certifications.
“Thanks to these efforts, we are now more recognized by major donors in BiH, particularly UNDP BiH, with whom we are implementing numerous projects. Of the funds we allocate annually for the Capital Investment Plan, only 20% comes from the municipality, while the rest comes from donor funding. Our aspiration is to achieve even greater cooperation with international funds,” Mihojčić noted.
He emphasized that in the coming period, the focus will be on the digitization of public administration. Srbac has already initiated projects to simplify procedures and enable citizens to complete most registration tasks online.
Agriculture
Significant progress has also been made in agriculture, with Srbac’s farmers receiving around 3 million BAM in subsidies from the Ministry of Agriculture.
“Every year, we increase municipal subsidies for agriculture. For the next year’s budget, a record 140,000 BAM has been allocated,” Mihojčić stated.
Source: Glas Srpske
