Kadirić for NAP: With a strong connection to the diaspora for accelerated and quality development of Sanski Most

Interview by: Delvin Kovač

Nijaz Kadirić is the candidate of the People's European Alliance NES - TOGETHER for the Mayor of the Municipality of Sanski Most.

Kadirić says that with his business, educational, political, and overall life experience, he is exceptionally capable of performing the position of mayor very successfully and in the interest of all citizens.

- Therefore, together with our citizens, including the diaspora from Sanski Most, I will advocate for the accelerated development of our local community. And I will pay special attention to the balanced development of all local communities in the municipality.

The arrangement of the city zone, with clean and tidy streets and parks, will be a priority in the first year of the mandate to make our daily lives more pleasant and beautiful, for us and for our guests who come to Sanski Most - Kadirić said in a video address on his Facebook, published on September 16.

In an interview with the Patria News Agency, he spoke about the strategic directions of action as a potential future mayor, compared the former and current governments of USK, and also spoke about the necessity of establishing significantly better cooperation between Sanski Most and the remaining municipalities within USK.

Mr. Kadirić, what will be the strategic directions of your action in the next four years, if the citizens of Sanski Most give you their trust and elect you as mayor?

Kadirić: The candidate's program for mayor consists of six strategic directions for the long-term development of Sanski Most:

- Strong connection with the diaspora - this implies the active involvement of business successful people from the diaspora in the development of Sanski Most;

- Economy, economic growth - through incentives, strengthen the development of small businesses, especially the IT sector through start-up projects, to give young people a chance to start their own businesses;

- Energy efficiency - to carry out thermal insulation of all old residential buildings, with the aim of reducing the consumption of firewood, mainly wood, a project that can be co-financed to a large extent through EU projects;

- Ecology and tourism - to build infrastructure at micro locations: Hrustovačka pećina, Dabarska pećina, Korčanica - air spa;

- Water supply Dabar-Zdena - to connect the Dabar spring with the Zdena water factory in order to connect other local communities with the Zdena water factory in the future;

- Waste management, sanitary landfill - in cooperation with other municipalities, to initiate the construction of a sanitary landfill, a project fully financed by EU funds and a project that turns waste into raw material and protects our environment from further pollution.

In the Government of USK, which was led by Mustafa Ružnić in the previous term, you held the position of Minister of Economy. How would you assess the work of that government, which many say is one of the best post-war governments, and the current government led by Prime Minister Nijaz Hušić?

Kadirić: The successful work of the Ministry of Economy in the most successful Government of USK since the establishment of the Canton - would be my assessment of the work of Prime Minister Mustafa Ružnić and his Government, in which I was also a member. We regulated support for the economy like never before with stable incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises. We also regulated tourism through a new law that is yielding results today.

The new Government with Prime Minister Hušić, according to many, has not managed to maintain the achieved standards, and in the field of forestry, in just six months, they have made a loss in the business of ŠPD USK šume of 2.5 million KM, even though they had a profit of 2 million in December, which we left them. The difference is best seen in that example.

After the last General Elections, NES refused to participate in the government at both the state and federal levels. You did not want to be in power in the Council of Ministers with secessionist Milorad Dodik, and in the Government of FBiH led by Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić because it was imposed by the decision of the High Representative. Do you feel in conversations on the ground that people have recognized such an unusual move by NES, which showed that principles and the state are more important to you than positions?

Kadirić: When it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, NES will certainly always show that statesmanlike attitude towards BiH. The decision of NES was welcomed on the ground, and I am sure that our citizens have recognized it. NES also suffered a political blow in the Canton due to principledness and respect for agreements, where SDA and Trojka took power. I personally believe that our citizens will recognize such principledness in our work, and that we will emerge much stronger from all of this in the Local Elections.

In the previous Local Elections in Sanski Most, voter turnout was extremely low - only a third of eligible voters voted. How to encourage non-voters to come to the polls and vote this October 6?

Kadirić: A large majority of our citizens are outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That is why I decided to make the diaspora the first priority of my program. That our diaspora participates in the development of Sanski Most through various programs and projects. And later, their participation in voting itself will come into play. Those voters who live here participate in voting in large numbers. Unfortunately, there are few of us here.

What is the cooperation between Sanski Most and the remaining municipalities in the Una-Sana Canton? Do you think it could be improved and in which areas?

Kadirić: Spineless politicians try to sow hatred among our citizens towards certain municipalities because they develop faster, for example, than Sanski Most. This relationship will change towards cooperation with all municipalities in USK, as well as neighboring municipalities in the RS where our returnees live. Sanski Most needs good cooperation with everyone, and I will personally do everything to make such cooperation a reality.