How Maslo Was Dismissed: The SDA 'Trojka' Removed the Director of the FBiH Civil Service Agency Through Deception

Following several dismissals of SDA cadres from Herzegovina, numerous objections could be heard. One of these dismissals particularly demonstrated the arbitrariness of certain individuals within this party, when Sead Maslo, director of the FBiH Civil Service Agency, was removed in a politically motivated and dishonorable manner.

Out of only five positions held by cadres from Herzegovina in Sarajevo, they are left with only two. The party position of Edin Mušić and the ministerial position of Elvira Dilberović. The Prime Minister of the Federation, Fadil Novalić, placed this dismissal on the agenda without anyone knowing anything about it, writes the Patria news agency.    

Maslo's dismissal was carried out absolutely illegally, without consultation, without normal party procedures, and with no regard for the person being dismissed. The dismissal was not even mentioned at the party's Cadre Commission.

There was no collegium for such a decision, which normally consists of 11 people, with eight party vice-presidents, the head of the Cadre Commission, the prime minister, and one of the top leaders of the FBiH Parliament. Maslo, it is rumored, was dismissed by an agreement between three people in Srebrenica on July 11, on the day of the funeral. Asim Sarajlić, Fadil Novalić, and Aljoša Čampara are the 'trojka' who presented themselves as a collegium and decided Maslo's fate according to their own will.

Novalić stated at the Government session that Maslo was being relieved of his duties because his term had expired. This was Novalić's first deception. Maslo did not come from the party; he was appointed director with the status of a senior civil servant, for an indefinite period, according to the Law on Civil Service.

Novalić went a step further in illegality by retroactively applying certain provisions of the FBiH Law on Civil Service, which came into effect six months ago, for the period 2010-2015. By doing so, Novalić violated the international legal and constitutional principle prohibiting the retroactive application of laws, thereby promoting discrimination and legal uncertainty.

Sead Maslo believes that this opens up a problem where expertise can be usurped by political arbitrariness, without any consequences. Someone wanted to gain control of this service in order to do whatever they pleased.  

Maslo has filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court of FBiH due to what he stated was an illegal dismissal.

Cadres from Herzegovina believe that this dismissal is also a method of destabilizing individuals involved in the issue of organizing Mostar. Maslo is one of those important figures in resolving the city's status issues.   

Is this the beginning of a purge of experts and the appointment of obedient individuals, so that things can be done as desired? Even voices within the SDA are heard saying that a certain group of people, through the case of Sead Maslo's dismissal, has shown open arbitrariness and their aspirations to take over the party.                   

Finally, cadres from Herzegovina in the SDA are asking: Out of 250 management positions held by Bosniak cadres in the Federation, three positions have been taken away from their meager five. They ask: Why, for example, were the far more numerous positions of cadres from Tuzla, Zenica, or other regions not reduced? Or is this part of a strategic deal between SDA and HDZ, in the final appropriation of Mostar from the Bosniak component?   

130 People Working on Service Contracts, the Reform Agenda Mocked

Unfortunately, the SDA has long shown how it violates the ban on employment in administration. The FBiH Government has allegedly created 130 service contracts. This has mocked the Reform Agenda and deceived the IMF and the World Bank.

Working on a service contract is undeclared work, as the money does not go into the salary item but into the contractual services item. Sources within the Government have long warned about the enormous increase in costs due to the formation of hundreds of working groups, through which civil servants perform their regular duties as extraordinary and well-paid tasks.