By attending a two-day training in Neum on the topic “Preparation of Specific Documents for the Use of EU Pre-Accession Assistance,” representatives of the Municipality of Brod continued strengthening their capacities for the European integration process. This training marked the conclusion of a mini training cycle during which more than 20 representatives of local communities and members of the EU network from various municipalities and cities had the opportunity to acquire basic knowledge about the instruments and principles of using EU pre-accession assistance (IPA III).
Following earlier sessions held in Konjic and Bijeljina—where participants focused on strategic planning and project cycle management—the final training in Neum was dedicated to concrete elements of EU pre-accession programming. In cooperation with lecturers from the Directorate for European Integration, the representatives of Brod worked on practical examples of drafting key documents such as the strategic response, action document, and action fiche.
High levies and strict inspection controls are among the biggest challenges faced by self-employed entrepreneurs in Brod, according to the conclusion of today’s public discussion on the topic “Improving the Work and Status of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs in the Municipality of Brod.”
The public discussion was organized in the meeting hall of the Municipality of Brod by the Regional Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship (PZPK) Doboj, which gathers entrepreneurs from seven municipalities and two cities in the Doboj region.
According to Zoran Gajić, President of the Board of PZPK Doboj, the region has about 2,400 self-employed entrepreneurs.
“Today’s event is focused on the work of entrepreneurs and improving their conditions. It’s about initiating discussions on how to reduce levies, taxes, and other burdens that jeopardize the work of entrepreneurs,” said Gajić, adding:
“If we succeed in getting the Republic of Srpska and relevant law-making bodies to consider our proposals and somewhat accommodate them, we could survive here and improve the work of entrepreneurs.”
He emphasized that improving the work of entrepreneurs also impacts the status of workers, leading to higher wages and consequently reducing the outflow of the workforce from the area.
“If we improve the conditions for entrepreneurs, we will improve the status of workers by enabling better salaries. There are ways and opportunities to unite all this and fight together for our people to remain in this area, and for small entrepreneurs to survive against large corporations,” Gajić stressed.
Public discussions on this topic have already been held in Petrovo and Derventa, and the plan is to organize them in other municipalities of the Doboj region by June 10.
“At the end, we will prepare a report that we will submit to the Government of the Republic of Srpska and to legislative bodies so they can review the relevant laws, taxes, and levies—explore what can be reduced, what can be abolished, and whether certain provisions or requirements can be extended, for example from two to five years,” said the PZPK Doboj Board President, adding:
“In this way, we will enable entrepreneurs to work better, to survive here, retain their jobs, and also hire new workers, ultimately helping to stop the outflow of our workforce abroad.”
According to him, entrepreneurs mostly complain about high taxes and levies, such as taxation on meal allowances, personal income tax, and the like.
“They complain about the work of inspection authorities and the high fines. Every country and system needs a tax administration and inspection services, but it’s easy to fine someone—what we should do is help them,” he said, adding that efforts should be made to support businesspeople striving to survive through their work.
Gajić added that one of the tasks of the Regional Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship is to advocate for mitigating penalties in order to retain jobs and prevent further workforce drain.
He thanked the Mayor of Brod and the municipal administration for their hospitality and expressed appreciation for their interest in cooperation.
Draženka Duronja, Head of the Department of Economy and Social Affairs, expressed gratitude to all entrepreneurs from Brod who responded to the invitation and shared their problems as well as ideas for overcoming them.
“Active participation by entrepreneurs and craftsmen, idea exchange, and willingness to cooperate all contribute to strengthening our shared goal—to improve working conditions and support the development of crafts and small businesses,” she said, adding:
“The presence of all interested entrepreneurs confirms the importance of unity, dialogue, and mutual support in building a strong and sustainable entrepreneurial community.”
At today’s meeting, a cooperation team was appointed to work with the Regional Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship, consisting of Biljana Kojić, Radmila Čečavac, Savo Kojić, and Siniša Kojić.
The Regional Chamber of Crafts and Entrepreneurship Doboj is organizing a Public Discussion on the topic “Improving Working Conditions and the Status of Independent Entrepreneurs in the Municipality of Brod” on Thursday, May 22, 2025, starting at 6:00 PM, in the meeting room of the Brod Municipality (Svetog Save Street 17).
According to the invitation from the RCCE Doboj, the aim of this Public Discussion is to exchange views, address problems related to operations and functioning, and propose demands for improving working conditions as well as amendments to legal regulations in the coming period in order to enhance and increase the efficiency of independent entrepreneurs.
The full text of the invitation can be found at this link.
Around thirty farmers from the Brod municipality visited the 92nd International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, organized by the Municipality of Brod. Free transportation and tickets were provided for all participants, which represents the Municipality’s long-standing practice of supporting local producers.
Siniša Jaćimović, independent expert associate for agriculture in the municipal administration, emphasized that such a visit was an important opportunity for farmers from Brod to gain insight into the latest technological achievements in crop production, fruit growing and other areas of agriculture.
“It was especially interesting to learn about modern solutions such as navigation systems and drones, which are increasingly being used in agricultural production,” said Jaćimović.
He emphasized that farmers from Brod actively follow new trends and strive to apply them in their work in order to achieve better yields and higher incomes. The fair also served as a place to exchange experiences and make new contacts with manufacturers and equipment suppliers from the region.
An excellent location, simple procedure for issuing consents and documents, favorable land prices, building permits and utility fees, and a low tax rate, are just some of the benefits of the Skele Business Zone, it was announced at a meeting held tonight by the Mayor of Brod, Milan Zečević, with Brod businessmen doing business abroad.
Zečević presented in detail all the benefits that investors who decide to move their plants or parts of their production plants to Brod can enjoy, and judging by the comments, a good portion of those present tonight supported this initiative.
Slaviša Vrach, a resident of Brod, owner of the company “VsV”, which operates in Germany and Croatia and is engaged in metal production, welcomed the idea of first offering this land to our businessmen who are engaged in any type of business outside the borders of our municipality and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“First of all, I would like to thank the mayor and his office for such a good and high-quality gathering. Just as I advised the mayor last year in a conversation that it is very important for our city to convene the guys who are already out there, who are ready to invest something, just like I am in this city and we all like to come to this city, and we need, as the mayor said, to change the consciousness of those people a little, so that people get out of the comfort zone that Brod is currently in and the chances are good with a mayor like this that we will move forward, for sure,” said Vrač and added:
“Our plan is to come here and expand here, where we started from.”
The potential that Brod has due to its geographical location, but also numerous other advantages, was recognized six years ago by Mika Zečević, owner of the company “DM Montaža”.
“Our Brod is in an ideal place for doing business. The European Union is our pedal, the highway, the railways and everything else. I do business abroad that we plan to bring here, and, first of all, Brod is in such a place that everything is very simple. We are in an ideal place, even better than across the Sava, in the European Union,” he said and added:
“We have extremely good conditions, primarily tax conditions, labor force, and, ultimately, the profit that is made, the profit tax is 10 percent, which I think is not found anywhere in the world, and certainly not in Europe.
Mika Zečević emphasized that very hardworking people live and work in these areas, and that this is also the potential for successful business in Brod.
“The labor force is scarce in some places, like ours, and I believe that with good investments, good organization and decent payment to workers, it can be very well realized and here, that there is no need for abroad. That is one of my goals – to stay here, for my children to stay here and to try to bring back as many people as possible who went abroad to earn a living,” he said.
The Mayor of the Municipality of Brod, Milan Zečević, thanked everyone who responded to the invitation and emphasized that every suggestion from people involved in any type of business is valuable.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the businessmen who took the time and to thank them for an extensive discussion, and what makes me especially happy is that we always have something new to learn from smart, enterprising and innovative people, which was certainly the case tonight,” Zečević emphasized.
He explained that intensive work has begun on resolving the decades-old problem of property and legal relations, and that Brod finally has something concrete to offer future investors.
“Brod has always suffered from unresolved property and legal relations, and I would like to thank my associates and employees of RUGIP, or our cadastre, who managed to finally legally harmonize the Skele Business Zone in record time, so that less than two months ago we received a complete product, we received nearly 200 thousand square meters of first-class business land 300 meters from the border crossing with all possible predispositions and advantages that can benefit and are needed by an entrepreneur,” said the mayor.
Zečević emphasized that it was very important to offer the plots in the “Skele” Business Zone first to Brod residents working abroad, and then to other potential investors.
“The idea was to throw the first pebble into the water and create the first concentric circle of interested people. These are our Brod entrepreneurs, and I would also like to thank some foreign investors who came to listen, ask questions and consider what we should do in the coming period,” he said.
The Mayor of Brod said that “only the creation of new value can improve the entire living climate in Brod, not just the business climate.”
“We want to offer every investor a first-class location on very favorable terms, and with the fulfillment of certain conditions, the land can be transferred without compensation. In addition, there is the possibility of deferred payment, there is also the possibility of various subsidies, and as a good incentive from the municipality, we will bring all the necessary infrastructure, asphalt, electricity, water, sewage and everything else that is needed to every business entity to the very gate of the company,” emphasized Zečević.
Tonight’s meeting was attended by about thirty businessmen, as well as the president and some members of the Commercial Council of the Municipality of Brod.
Their questions were answered by the head of the Department for Economy and Social Activities, Draženka Duronja, and the head of the Department for Spatial Planning and Property and Legal Affairs, Sanela Latinović, in addition to the head of the municipality.
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