IDDEEA Suspends Passport Production

(Patria) - The Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IDDEEA) must vacate the Medical Electronics building in Banja Luka by Monday, and due to the relocation, the production of passports and other documents has been suspended, Capital reports.

IDDEEA paid an annual rent of 596,000 KM to the company Grand Trade, owned by Mile Radišić, who was convicted for irregularities with Medical Electronics shares.

Radišić's company terminated the further lease for this Agency, and IDDEEA found accommodation within the Incel complex, where it will henceforth pay an annual rent of 1,088,000 KM.

Before this relocation and move to higher rent, IDDEEA moved its headquarters from the premises of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Ekvator building in Banja Luka, which it used free of charge, to business premises on Ivana Frane Jukića Street, where it pays a monthly rent of about 17,800 KM, or more than 200,000 KM annually.

IDDEEA Director Almir Badnjević says the Agency was forced due to force majeure to leave the Central Bank premises that were given to it for use.

"Due to heavy rainfall on September 17, 2024, the roof of the Ekvator business building leaked again, causing water to penetrate the premises used by the Agency.

After we informed the Central Bank about this, informing them that the constant leaking posed a serious threat and endangered human lives and Agency property, they requested that we consider the possibility of finding a temporary relocation until the remediation is completed," Badnjević stated in a written response to Capital.

Despite the extraordinary circumstances due to which he did not have to conduct a bid collection procedure, he emphasizes that for the sake of transparency, he nevertheless conducted a bid collection procedure, after which the Agency's headquarters were moved to Ivana Franje Jukića Street, where it pays 40.99 KM per square meter monthly, using 434 square meters of space.

Regarding the relocation of the Center for Personalization, Storage and Transport of Documents and the Technical Sector, Badnjević says that he did not make the decision to relocate, but rather Grand Trade by terminating the further lease.

"The Center for Personalization, Storage and Transport of Documents and the Technical Sector are moving to the address Veljka Mlađenovića in Banja Luka (Incel complex), and the amount the Agency will allocate for the accommodation needs of these organizational units is 36.27 KM per m2 including VAT.

The Agency allocated 33.93 KM per m2 including VAT for the accommodation needs of these organizational units at the previous location," Badnjević states.

IDDEEA used 1,464 square meters of space at the previous location, for which it paid an annual rent of 596,000 KM, and at the new location, it has leased 2,500 square meters from the company "Energana", for which it will pay 1,088,000 KM annually.

The IDDEEA Director states in his response that the building at the new location meets all prescribed technical conditions in accordance with the public call for collecting bids for the lease of storage, archive and business space.

Nevertheless, he avoided giving a direct answer to the question of whether that building possesses all necessary permits, because according to Capital's information, that building does not have a valid use permit.

"The bid collection committee visited the offered location on December 9 and determined that the space meets the conditions stipulated by the public advertisement in terms of square footage and the planned layout of future rooms, and that after adaptation it can also meet the conditions in terms of security aspects," Badnjević states.

He adds that based on this, a lease agreement was concluded, on which the Attorney's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina gave a positive opinion.

The IDDEEA Director delayed responding to these questions, as well as to questions about the amount of funds the Agency will allocate for the relocation itself from Medical Electronics to the Incel complex, and according to information, between 400 and 500 thousand marks will be spent for these purposes.

To make matters worse, there is a possibility that IDDEEA, due to technical problems and the inability to establish an adequate internet network at the new location, may remain in the lease at the existing location for several more months, which would create huge unforeseen costs for this Agency.