Forto deceives citizens: Sarajevo is a hotbed of corruption, the Three on the path to the EU are pushing lawlessness

By: Muamer Bandić, member of the Presidency of the Party for BiH and representative in the KS Assembly

Politicians exaggerating their statements is nothing new. However, the president of Our Party and former Prime Minister of KS, Edin Forto, has really gotten carried away in spinning and deceiving the public with the statement that “Canton Sarajevo is already in the European Union according to all European standards”.

The situation was not great before the Three either, but inequality before the law and corruption have become the rule and way of operating for cantonal institutions under the rule of the Three.

The Ministry of Justice and Administration of KS has done nothing for years to ensure the application of measures to secure the presence of a suspect or accused person in criminal proceedings, house arrest with electronic monitoring. Four years ago, amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure of FBiH were adopted and published, which prescribed this measure, and three years ago, the Rulebook stipulated that cantonal ministries of justice are obliged to initiate the procurement and use of technical equipment necessary for the implementation of this measure within 15 days. Of course, nothing has been done on this matter so far, which has caused direct damage to the budget of KS in the amount of several hundred thousand marks.

It is absurd that the leaders of the Three parties boast that they have ensured the adoption of laws that the European Commission has set as a condition for Bosnia and Herzegovina to open accession negotiations with the European Union, while at lower levels of government, adopted laws are not applied, completely undermining the rule of law.

The procedure of the former director of KJKP “Rad”, who misused loan funds taken from the Development Bank intended for the procurement of equipment through UNDP for the purchase of fuel, in the amount of USD 374,126.63, most vividly shows how our “Europeans” do not understand what corruption is and how to fight it. The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office is currently dealing with this audacious “anti-corruption” endeavor.

The relationship towards the execution of final court judgments arising from labor disputes of its own employees also shows how much the KS Government fights against corruption and for the rule of law, equality of citizens before the law, and a legal state in practice. Canton Sarajevo has lost all disputes on these labor-legal issues at all court instances, from the Cantonal, through the Constitutional, to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. It was even fined in the meantime by the Constitutional Court of BiH for not implementing enforcement orders for 27 appellants.

However, despite all of the above, the KS Government still does not respect the law or court decisions, and is still trying to invent extra-legal and extra-judicial solutions in order to make payments of debts according to priorities known only to them, i.e. connections. To make the absurdity greater, the KS Government has annulled and rejected the only legal and fair model proposed by the Party for BiH when it was part of the cantonal coalition, which relates to the gradual execution of these accumulated debts in the next 3 to 4 years, in accordance with the Law on Enforcement Procedure. Therefore, without artificially created “priorities”, i.e. connections for anyone and without discrimination against anyone. And while the KS Government sleeps on this issue, the public debt on this basis is growing.

Canton Sarajevo is indebted for an additional 35 million euros for the realization of the project “Sarajevo City Transport – Additional Funds”, and the key element of the borrowing, the interest rate, is unknown to anyone, neither the KS Government nor the KS Assembly. The decision was adopted by force of majority, and even those who voted for such a decision did not know how much the Canton Sarajevo would repay in total, nor do they know to this day. It is not necessary to be an expert to understand that borrowing is not done in such an amateurish way as in this case. I am sure that none of the ministers, nor the representatives who voted for this, would have done such a thing if they had taken a loan from a bank privately. They can do it here because they clearly do not fear responsibility for their omissions.

An example of European fight against corruption is the appointment of an acting director of the Cantonal Inspectorate Administration. Although Article 4 of the Law on Ministerial, Governmental and Other Appointments of FBiH stipulates that appointments for a shorter period can be made for a maximum of three months and cannot be repeated, the KS Government has violated this very clear legal provision and appointed the same person 3-4 times. In the same “transparent” and “legal” manner, the former acting director of KJKP “Rad” was appointed 5-6 times, at one point even as a pensioner.

The real treat in the European “fight against corruption” is the concealment of the financial report related to EXPO 2020 and the then tourist trip of the leaders of the Three to Dubai, a favorite destination of some leaders. The trip to Dubai was used for personal self-promotion of the “leaders”, and the economy of KS gained nothing from that circus. Only at the persistent insistence and request of the opposition, the KS Assembly adopted a conclusion that the Ministry of Economy of KS should submit documentation on the expenditure of funds during the realization of the mentioned project. That report never reached the representatives and probably never will.

Is that the transparency that the leaders of the Three constantly boast about? Why is the requested report not submitted so that the public can see how much money was spent and for what purposes? The situation is identical with the reconstruction and construction of the tram line. No one knows how much money has been spent so far and for what purposes. No one knows how much more money will be spent and for what purposes, because the contracts with the contractors are hidden from the public. Are these the European standards that Forto talks about so boastfully?

If these are the European standards that Forto talks about, then it is time to think carefully whether we need such a Europe? We were taught that Europe is something completely different. That it is a political space where order and law reign, and a space where governance is by law. That it is a space where the government is responsible for its work to its citizens and a space where governance is transparent. Transparent, however, means that citizens have insight into the work of those who govern and whom they pay.

Canton Sarajevo is not that by any of these parameters! According to the way of governing implemented by the Three, Canton Sarajevo is most similar to some African country, only we have water and electricity more regularly.