While Some Drive a Wild Rally on Čović's Sections, Citizens of Tuzla and Bihać Survive on Collapsed Roads!

By Rasim Belko

The communication policy of the imposed Government of the Federation of BiH almost ended last night with a scene from a bad but dramatic film. Only pure chance, when the cosmos takes pity because institutions won't, prevented someone from getting hurt after a landslide protection simply collapsed onto the main road Sarajevo – Tuzla at Nišići.

So, besides the fact that Nermin Nikšić's government never even dreamed of connecting the capital city with its largest industrial center, they have also shown that they perfectly don't care whether passengers who have the misfortune of using the Sarajevo – Tuzla “road” will arrive home alive. That road, instead of connecting, actually serves as an obstacle between two cities.

Meanwhile, few villages in Herzegovina are not already covered in fresh, shiny, multi-million asphalt. Roads are sprouting there like mushrooms after rain, while in the rest of the Federation, citizens hope that at least the obstacles on the roads will sprout a little slower.

And no, we cannot blame only HDZ, Dragan Čović, or Roads of FBiH under the command of Ljubo Pravdić. They are guilty, but they are not the only ones, nor are they the biggest culprits in neglecting a significant part of the country.

Nermin Nikšić, prime minister by decree and by the will of everyone except the citizens, still sits at the head of the FBiH Government. This makes him most responsible for the road network through Bosnia resembling some reality show road network where people don't drive, but survive.

That Nikšić taps to the rhythm of Dragan Čović may be a personal tragedy, but by no means an excuse. On the contrary, it is another reason to re-examine his responsibility for the roads to Tuzla and Bihać being turned into a real road lottery: will there be traffic jams, potholes, landslides… or will some Touareg bought with your money push you off the road, while dragging us all into the abyss.

And there is the other prominent figure of the Trojka, the state-level Minister of Transport, Edin Forto. While he jumps for joy because they “succeeded” in getting a loan to patch the road towards Šćepan Polje, roads in the heart of the country are collapsing as if protesting their own neglect.

True, the Trojka was imposed to serve the political ambitions of Dragan Čović and Croatian politics in BiH. But that doesn't mean they are absolved of responsibility. While the roads to Tuzla and Bihać are becoming life-threatening, millions are smoothly flowing into new kilometers of Herzegovinian asphalt. Because the Federation of BiH seems to be just a model, where only politically profitable areas are asphalted, i.e., the area of the imaginary “Herceg Bosna,” because that suits Nikšić's and Forto's boss Čović.

It is irritating, almost grotesque, that both Nikšić and Forto, along with the entire Trojka entourage, came to power thanks to barely average number of votes, and the largest portion of those votes were precisely the votes of Bosniaks. People elected them, perhaps in the hope of getting something better than the infrastructure from the nineties. Instead, as a reward, they received roads that look like they were taken from the archive of war footage, not from 2025.

Therefore, the eternal question that appears in analyses of numerous traffic accidents – “Who is to blame?” – sounds ridiculous, and is actually insolent. Most of those who ask it seem to suffer from short-term political memory. Because the culprit is very simple: The biggest culprit is the roads themselves. The entire road network through Bosnia, and especially through parts where Bosniaks and Bosnians are the majority, represents a testing ground for nerves, shock absorbers, and life luck.

Because, while Nikšić “boasts” about a speeding ticket for 62 kmh over the limit (driving 162 in a 100 kmh zone), on most sections of the roads to Tuzla and Bihać, you will rarely have the opportunity to drive even 60 kmh, let alone behave like Nikšić and test your four-wheeler.

Because, good roads are built for Čović-loyal Croats and obedient political stooges!