When Burzić helps: Mirza Čelik avoided Zadruga, now becomes the first man of the Assembly

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Most of the BiH public has been focused on events in Sarajevo Canton in recent days. Although a humorous campaign “where is the seal” is being conducted on social networks, the situation is far from comical. Residents of the capital are choking on smog, January salaries are questionable, there is an urgent need to resolve security in public city transport by overhauling the railway, as well as safety on the streets due to the increased presence of migrants…

However, all of that is not enough for both assemblies under one roof. One led by Elmedin Konaković (NiP) and the other SDA faction that is to be established by the new chairman Mirza Čelik.
But, for four full years, there have been reports about Čelik's suspicious business dealings, conflict of interest, and the former chief cantonal prosecutor of Sarajevo, Dalida Burzić, ensured that the most powerful and most important actors in this case mysteriously disappeared from the indictment in the Zadruga case. Among them is Mirza Čelik, a long-time SDA cadre. Before taking office in the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton, he was the responsible person in the family company „Telefongradnja“. At the end of February 2018, he was questioned as a suspect. He was not charged, as Žurnal.info extensively reported.

Dalida Burzić was soon appointed as a judge of the Court of BiH after this case!

Although the representative in the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton, Mirza Čelik, formally left the director position in his own company „Telefongradnja“ after being elected to the Assembly, he is still in a direct conflict of interest.

From the position of a parliamentary representative, Čelik has the ability to influence that the private company owned by his family succeeds in tenders in public companies. In 2015 alone, the Čelik family collected nearly 300,000 KM from KJKP „Park“ for the maintenance of public lighting in the area of Sarajevo Canton. The company Telefongradnja d.o.o. was founded in 1983 in Sarajevo by Mirza's father Rasim Čelik. The company was run by Mirza Čelik from 1997. After he was elected to the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton, a certain Edin Prljača took over the director position.

In addition to “Park”, until a few years ago, the main source of income for the family of representative Mirza Čelik also came from another public company – BH Telecom, which is controlled by his parent party SDA, so it is no surprise that he regularly passed all tenders. 

On the official website of Telefongradnja, it is stated that the Čelik family earned more than 3.6 million KM from BH Telecom in the period from 2003 to 2009. Interestingly, no other references are mentioned. Before coming to the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton, the Party of Democratic Action appointed Mirza Čelik in 2010 as the chairman of the Assembly of KJKP Toplane, and three years later he became the chairman of the Assembly of KJKP Tržnice-pijace.