If It Were Up to Me, You Would See Renovated Houses, but Mayors Are Dragging Their Feet Due to Elections

There is growing talk that the reconstruction after the catastrophic floods that hit Bosnia and Herzegovina is proceeding too slowly and that most affected citizens will not have a roof over their heads before winter, writes the Patria news agency.

Jasmin Jaganjac, director of the Fund for Flood-Affected Areas in the Federation of BiH, revealed in an interview with NAP why the reconstruction is slow and how the Fund operates.

PATRIA: Why is the reconstruction slow, who is to blame, and what can be done to speed up the process?

JAGANJAC: People need to know the truth. At the very least, I am not called to defend anyone as to why everything should take so long. The floods should not have happened at all. If everyone had done their job, causally and consequentially, the embankments would have been built properly, the riverbeds would have been clear, and probably none of this would have happened. This is the consequence, and what is the cause. The cause is inaction from the local community to the canton, to the Federation, and finally to the state.

The fact is that when the state gives money, it does not care why something is happening, but it is interested in legal and other procedures. And I won't go to prison because I am a thief, because I took something, but because I made a mistake in procedures.

PATRIA: Who manages the Federal Fund and do the members of the Management Board receive compensation?

JAGANJAC: The Federal Fund is managed by the Management Board, 11 people. The director is the authorized representative who implements the decisions of the Management Board. The director is not the one who sets priorities, but the one who implements the decisions made by the Board. They have no compensation and it is not specified by law; they do this job by default and it is within their job description.

PATRIA: From what funds do you receive your salary?

JAGANJAC: The government made a decision and ordered the opening of a third account for the fund's operations, for the fund's overheads. And from that account, the salary of the director and employees, if any, is paid. That account was opened separately, and the government allocated 100,000 KM from its reserves from a sub-account for expenses until the new year. From that money, nothing has been spent so far, not for per diems or fuel, I haven't even paid the notary yet. I waited for the Prime Minister to sign the employment contract with me, which he did on Friday. I picked up the car on Wednesday.

I drive a better private car than this one now. I got a used Passat, and I drive a new one, which I own and pay for regularly on a lease.

PATRIA: Why did you accept the position of director of the Fund?

JAGANJAC: The Prime Minister called me and asked if I would accept this position. I agreed, and the Government of the Federation of BiH appointed me to the position of director of the Fund. I took on this story patriotically because I recognized that this is more dangerous than the war itself. I wanted to respond to this challenge. When I say challenge, this is similar to what I used to do. What I like, when I studied the Federal Fund, I took it and studied what Serbia and Croatia did, and I told the Prime Minister that nothing smarter could have been done. Of course, it has its mechanisms that take a little longer to start, but in the long run, this is a great story for transparency. It will be precisely known what came in and what went out. The Fund has its two accounts, foreign currency and KM, and only at Union Bank, which does not charge account maintenance fees.

PATRIA: There is speculation that your CIPS is in Zagreb, is that true?

JAGANJAC: My apartment is in Mostar, and whoever speculates that I am in Zagreb can come for coffee. I am a rich man, I have two citizenships, because I lived in Zagreb and got an apartment. My wife lives and works in Zagreb in the City Administration. I used to go there often, but in the last month, I was only there for Bajram.

PATRIA: You insist on signing tripartite agreements, but many local government representatives consider this unnecessary administrative work?

JAGANJAC: Money cannot be distributed without knowing where it ends up. That is why tripartite agreements are made. The money has been in the municipalities' accounts since September 15, and they could have distributed it. It cannot be 'give me money without rights and obligations,' so I used a joker and gave those agreements to my lawyer and told him to draft tripartite agreements. I want the rights and obligations of the Municipality and the Fund to be precisely known, because in the end, I want to know whether that money was spent, and when we send a commission, I want to see the house and the work, not have them show me a shack. An anti-corruption clause is also built into the agreements.

PATRIA: Have you encountered any malversations?

JAGANJAC: I have had cases where mayors claim that people do not have ID cards. But I insist that a JMBG and CIPS must be provided; why would I trust someone if they don't have an ID card? We made that and sent it to everyone, and I had to write letters again. There is a bit of dragging of feet between mayors and end users, and I believe it is because of the elections.

PATRIA: When will we see the first houses?

JAGANJAC: If it were up to me, you would see the first houses. I did my part; on September 15, I released the money. If I were a mayor, I would have kept the legal department at work that same day, bought them a sandwich, and told them to draft agreements. I would have called people on the 16th to give them the money.