When you are not a general practitioner politician, who speaks to exhaustion, barrenly and without any sense, then you are – Zijad Krnjić!

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

In a country where noise is a substitute for argument, and form is a substitute for content, it is rare to see someone who does not succumb to pressure, does not trade principles, and does not sacrifice justice for their own armchair.

The Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) of BiH will hold an extraordinary session on December 10, where key decisions, amendments to the internal organization rulebook, road toll revenue distribution, temporary distribution coefficients, and multi-year settlements between entities will be reconsidered.

For years, these decisions have been made in an atmosphere of bargaining and postponement, with the Federation of BiH constantly incurring losses, while Republika Srpska and part of the ITA Management Board persistently avoid calculating the actual situation.

In all of this, one expert stood out: Zijad Krnjić, a member of the ITA Management Board representing the Federation of BiH. Not because he spoke the most, but because he spoke what was most important: that the law must be respected and that funds from the Single Account must be distributed based on actual, not politically rigged, coefficients.

Srđan Amidžić, the Minister of Finance, was surely on the verge of a nervous breakdown, expecting some reaction from Krnjić that would, as in the case of the leaders of the 'Trojka', allow for endless responses and public arguments. No, he received still waters that rose to a mountain! He did not threaten with excavators, he only took the only action possible at this moment.

Krnjić has already twice refused to support the Rulebook which attempts to cover up the fact that settlements between entities have not been made and that coefficients have been avoided for months. Due to this inaction, the Federation of BiH is at a deficit of around 120 million KM, an amount that would be almost unimaginable as an oversight in any ordered country. The last coefficients were adopted in the second half of 2023, and since then, everything has been reduced to temporary solutions, political blackmail, and the postponement of the obvious.

To make the absurdity even greater, the Federation was forced to sue Republika Srpska and the ITA Management Board for violating the law. The lawsuit seeks almost 73 million KM, with the final determination of damages through court expertise. This data best illustrates the depth of institutional disorder and negligence.

In such an atmosphere, when it is easier to bow your head and raise your hands as others dictate, Krnjić chose what has become a rarity in BiH politics – law and justice. Not his own interest, not a daily bargain, not a party order.

In a country where experts often only formally bear their titles, he showed what it means to have integrity and put the interests of the state above one's own position, even if it means being the only one to loudly say "no".

It is true, the results of his stance are yet to be seen. It remains to be seen whether justice will translate into a concrete financial and political outcome. But the courage is already there. And the courage not to remain silent and nod in agreement has become the most valuable currency in this system.

The ITA Management Board includes Srđan Amidžić, Toni Kraljević, Zora Vidović, Jelena Popović, and Zijad Krnjić. But only one among them decided not to treat his vote as a formality, but as an obligation.

And that is why it is important to state clearly: Zijad Krnjić did what is rarely done in BiH institutions – he put the state above his function.

Many leaders could learn a lot from him, starting with apologizing to the citizens of BiH, as they promised, if their compromise does not yield results.