Whoever judges you, let them sign too: Railway on life support

By Avdo Avdić/Istraga.ba

The "Respirators" case has come due. To be clear, no one died from the respirators that Srebrna malina procured for the Federation. But because of that case, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's economy is slowly dying.

More than a month has passed since the devastating floods and landslides that claimed over twenty lives and several kilometers of transport infrastructure. It has passed, but not a single meter of railway in Donja Jablanica has been repaired.

If you are wondering why, then you should seek the answer from the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from state prosecutor Džermin Pašić and his colleague Mirza Hukeljić, who has fled the prosecution ranks. Try asking Michael Murphy and all those public procurement experts who have been feasting on the money of so-called GRANT PRODUCTION for years.

Repairing the railway in Jablanica is necessary and urgent. Just as the procurement of respirators during the coronavirus pandemic was.

"Let's not get into a situation where the Public Procurement Law is more important to us than the lives of citizens. We simply have to cut this short today," said the then Federal Minister of Internal Affairs Aljoša Čampara at the session of the FBiH Government held on March 17, 2020.

Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, after that, invoked Article 10 of the Public Procurement Law, which effectively provides for the suspension of the Law in crisis situations. He then signed the decision to procure any available respirators.

Where is Fadil Novalić today? In Vojkovići. Where is Aljoša Čampara? He is underlining parts of the verdict in the Respirators case to make it easier for Elmedin Konaković to read.

Everyone agrees today, both the opposition and the ruling parties, that Fadil Novalić did not steal a single penny during the procurement of respirators. Everyone also agrees that the respirators are bad. Could better ones have been procured? Difficult. Was there time for tenders and other public procurement procedures? No.

Just as there is no time today for tenders and other nonsense when it comes to repairing the railway in Donja Jablanica. Because the damages are immeasurable. Moreover, it is better to pay three times the real price to repair the railway than to enter winter with the railways in this state. And then in the spring, the Railways, GIKIL Lukavac, and all those factories that use the Port of Ploče will collapse.

But who would dare to sign a decision to "violate" the provisions of the BiH Public Procurement Law now? Nobody. Because everyone knows where Fadil Novalić is today.

And that's why the director of the Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Enis Džafić, should not be blamed for not wanting to sign anything outside of procedures. Nor should the HDZ minister of transport and communications, Andrijana Katić, be blamed for not wanting to rush things. Because why would any of them end up in Vojkovići tomorrow, when some new Murphy decides to name some new Džermin Pašić as the hero of the month.

Perhaps the NGO experts could roll up their sleeves and conduct the public procurement procedure in Donja Jablanica. Because they know exactly how much a railway sleeper costs, how much gravel, and how much rails.

Admittedly, Džermin Pašić could also, during his Sky breaks, quickly sign a procurement of services – railway repair. Michael Murphy could immortalize the solemn signing of the contract with his camera. Because after his diplomatic actions, we can only take pictures now anyway.