Čengić: Sarajevo holding is the solution for public utilities in KS

Eleven years after the adoption of the federal law on the principles of local self-government, the Sarajevo Canton has still not adopted the Law on Local Self-Government in KS, and in the meantime, the Constitutional Court of FBiH has issued rulings determining the violation of the right to local self-government of the city and municipalities in KS by the cantonal authorities.

All of this results in a catastrophic state of public utilities, water reductions, chaos in public transport, waste disposal, etc. Irfan Čengić, Secretary General of SDP BiH and Deputy Speaker of the Old Town Sarajevo Municipal Council, has offered a unique solution that could overcome all the aforementioned problems.

- Establishing a Sarajevo holding, modeled after the Zagreb or Ljubljana holding, is the solution for public utilities in KS. Instead of dozens of different public utility companies, directors, secretaries, drivers, and other staff associated with the offices of management personnel, and instead of hundreds of members of management and supervisory boards, it is necessary to create one holding that will include all public utility companies from KS and will be organized in a modern, functional, and profitable manner. The owners of this holding should be the municipalities, the city, and Sarajevo Canton. In this way, we can ensure stable public utility services for citizens, implement the Constitutional Court's rulings, and finally adopt the Law on Local Self-Government - states Irfan Čengić.

He warns that the current state of public utilities in Sarajevo Canton is unsustainable and that, if nothing is done, public utilities will collapse and end up in private hands.

- The only ones interested in maintaining this status quo are the managements of these companies who gain personal benefit and the ruling political elite in Sarajevo who trade positions in management and supervisory boards, management positions, and jobs in public companies. Public utilities are falling apart, citizens are not receiving basic services, and companies are being misused as the main tool for maintaining the same elite in power - warns Čengić.

A clear indicator that the decay of public utilities is not stopping and that this government will only continue on the same path are the recent events in the City of Sarajevo.

- The City Council has made a decision to establish yet another public company, and the current city authorities have rejected the initiative of our councilors from SDP BiH to hire people in that company through a competition. Establishing a holding in Sarajevo would help us more easily put an end to suspicious activities and political trading in public utility companies, and enable Sarajevo to finally receive decent public utility services. All companies under one roof, without hundreds of directors, deputy directors, secretaries, drivers, management and supervisory boards, under public scrutiny - calls Irfan Čengić.

Eleven years after the adoption of the federal law on the principles of local self-government, the Sarajevo Canton has still not adopted the Law on Local Self-Government in KS, and in the meantime, the Constitutional Court of FBiH has issued rulings determining the violation of the right to local self-government of the city and municipalities in KS by the cantonal authorities. All of this results in a catastrophic state of public utilities, water reductions, chaos in public transport, waste disposal, etc. Irfan Čengić, Secretary General of SDP BiH and Deputy Speaker of the Old Town Sarajevo Municipal Council, has offered a unique solution that could overcome all the aforementioned problems.

- Establishing a Sarajevo holding, modeled after the Zagreb or Ljubljana holding, is the solution for public utilities in KS. Instead of dozens of different public utility companies, directors, secretaries, drivers, and other staff associated with the offices of management personnel, and instead of hundreds of members of management and supervisory boards, it is necessary to create one holding that will include all public utility companies from KS and will be organized in a modern, functional, and profitable manner. The owners of this holding should be the municipalities, the city, and Sarajevo Canton. In this way, we can ensure stable public utility services for citizens, implement the Constitutional Court's rulings, and finally adopt the Law on Local Self-Government - states Irfan Čengić.

He warns that the current state of public utilities in Sarajevo Canton is unsustainable and that, if nothing is done, public utilities will collapse and end up in private hands. “The only ones interested in maintaining this status quo are the managements of these companies who gain personal benefit and the ruling political elite in Sarajevo who trade positions in management and supervisory boards, management positions, and jobs in public companies. Public utilities are falling apart, citizens are not receiving basic services, and companies are being misused as the main tool for maintaining the same elite in power - warns Čengić.

- A clear indicator that the decay of public utilities is not stopping and that this government will only continue on the same path are the recent events in the City of Sarajevo. The City Council has made a decision to establish yet another public company, and the current city authorities have rejected the initiative of our councilors from SDP BiH to hire people in that company through a competition. Establishing a holding in Sarajevo would help us more easily put an end to suspicious activities and political trading in public utility companies, and enable Sarajevo to finally receive decent public utility services. All companies under one roof, without hundreds of directors, deputy directors, secretaries, drivers, management and supervisory boards, under public scrutiny - calls Irfan Čengić.