Lidija Bradara and eight advisors, regulations and law violated

By: Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN)

The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PFBiH) Lidija Bradara illegally appointed five out of her total of eight advisors. She violated federal regulations by appointing individuals who did not have the required five years of work experience.

Furthermore, one of them had no prior employment, while others had work experience ranging from eight months to two years. Most of her advisors are party members or relatives and acquaintances of politicians.

Officials are not required to announce competitions when hiring advisors – they choose them themselves. Bradara also exercised this right when appointing her advisors. Their average monthly income ranges from 2,100 to 2,600 KM. In two years and two months, more than 306,000 KM from the federal budget was spent on the salaries and benefits of Bradara's advisors.

According to the Law on Civil Service of FBiH, although they do not have the status of civil servants, advisors must meet the same conditions as candidates for assistant heads of civil service. These conditions are not specified by the Law but by a special Decree which requires five years of work experience.

Lidija Bradara appointed her fellow citizen from Kiseljak, Irena Mrnjavac, as her advisor, even though she did not meet the requirements for the position. Mrnjavac had previously advised the Speaker of the Assembly of the Central Bosnia Canton, Josip Kvasina, but was dismissed because she did not have enough years of service at that time either.

Lidija Bradara was appointed Speaker of the House of Peoples of PFBiH in mid-January 2015 and appointed eight advisors by March 2017. They advise her in the areas of agriculture, relations with the international community and non-governmental sector, economy and social affairs, justice and administration, and legislative activities. Three are advisors for the clubs of the Croat, Bosniak, and Serb peoples, and she selected them based on the proposals of the presidents of these clubs.

Bradara appointed twice as many advisors as her predecessor and party colleague Tomislav Martinović, retaining two advisors who worked during his term – party colleagues Goran Božić and Slaven Zeljko.

Božić is her advisor in the field of agriculture, water management, and forestry. As a candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) BiH, he also ran in the 2016 local elections. However, he did not win a mandate for the Municipal Council in Čitluk. Božić has been engaged as Bradara's advisor since mid-January 2015. According to information obtained by the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN) from the House of Peoples of PFBiH in March this year, Božić had just over three years of work experience. This means he gained his first work experience working as an advisor to Bradara's predecessor. However, Božić later submitted additional documentation of two more years of work experience in a private company.

After failing in the last local elections, when he ran for mayor of Novi Travnik on behalf of the Croatian List, Lidija Bradara appointed Stjepan Dujo as her advisor in the areas of constitution, legislative, and legal activities.

Zeljko also did not meet the legal requirements for the advisor position. He had no work experience when Martinović appointed him as an advisor in February 2014. Zeljko now advises Bradara on relations with the international community and non-governmental sector. He holds a Master's degree in Political Science, and before being employed in the House of Peoples, he was the president of the Youth Wing of HDZBiH. He refused to speak with CIN journalists.

In November and December 2015, Bradara appointed two more advisors without the required experience – Šimun Herceg was appointed advisor for the Croat People's Club, and Semir Hajduk was appointed advisor for the Bosniak People's Club. Hajduk was proposed to Bradara by Osman Ćatić, president of the Bosniak Club and his fellow citizen from Konjic. Ćatić told CIN that he proposed Hajduk due to his experience working in the judiciary. However, according to information from the House of Peoples of PFBiH, he had no work experience.

Semir Hajduk's appointment as advisor for the Bosniak People's Club is his first employment. He says that party affiliation is a necessity for finding a job.

Hajduk refused to tell CIN journalists whether he is a member of any political party. "You know that it is impossible in this country in 99 percent of cases not to be formally affiliated with someone to get anything – to get that job or anything else," said Hajduk.

Herceg came to the position of advisor with one year of internship experience at the Student Center of the University of Mostar. His uncle is Nevenko Herceg, a member of HDZBiH and Prime Minister of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton. Nevenko Herceg told CIN that he did not help his nephew get the job.

In January 2015, Bradara also appointed Ana Popović, a journalist with over 15 years of work experience, as her advisor. She advises the Speaker of the House of Peoples in the areas of justice, administration, and local self-government and is the only one who meets the requirement of the necessary years of work experience.

Goran Božić was appointed as her advisor by Tomislav Martinović, the previous Speaker of the House of Peoples of PFBiH. Lidija Bradara reappointed him to the same position.

Acquaintances from Kiseljak

In December 2015, the FBiH Parliament amended the Law on Civil Service, so the provision on the required work experience was no longer in effect. However, the Constitutional Court of FBiH ruled in December 2016 that these amendments were unconstitutional. Since then, the requirement of five years of work experience has been in effect again.

Bradara appointed two of her advisors while the amended Law on Civil Service of FBiH was in effect – Jelena Kunić and Irena Mrnjavac, and the five-year work experience rule did not apply to them.

Mrnjavac is Bradara's advisor in the areas of economy and social affairs. Before her engagement in the House of Peoples, she was an advisor to the Speaker of the Assembly of the Central Bosnia Canton (SBK), Josip Kvasina, a member of HDZ from Kiseljak. Later, she was dismissed from her position as an advisor in the SBK Assembly because she did not meet the legally prescribed requirements for that job. Mrnjavac is a member of the Youth Wing of HDZBiH and comes from Kiseljak, as does her boss Lidija Bradara. She told CIN journalists that she did not want to discuss this topic.

Kunić is Bradara's advisor for the Serb People's Club. She previously worked as an advisor to the Speaker of the Assembly of Canton 10. CIN journalists did not receive answers regarding the manner of her appointment from the Assembly even after several months.

Mrnjavac and Kunić are still advisors, but the secretary of the House of Peoples, Izmir Hadžiavdić, believes that the decisions on their appointment should be annulled "because they are no longer in accordance with the Law.".

On the other hand, Bradara says that the Constitutional Court of FBiH made political decisions. She hired one advisor even after the amendments to the Law were annulled. Stjepan Dujo, a Master of Laws with one year of work experience, advises her in the area of the constitution. Dujo was employed by the Service for Foreigners' Affairs from October 2015. From August 2016, he was on unpaid leave from his job because he ran for mayor of Novi Travnik on behalf of the Croatian List for Novi Travnik. After failing in the elections, he returned to his position at the Service for Foreigners' Affairs until February 2017, when he went on unpaid leave again due to his engagement as an advisor in the House of Peoples.

Slaven Zeljko became an advisor to Tomislav Martinović, then Speaker of the House of Peoples of PFBiH, with no work experience, and then continued to advise his successor, Lidija Bradara.

Although she appointed her advisors contrary to the Law, Bradara will not face sanctions, unless judicial institutions deal with this case, explains the secretary of the House of Peoples. "I see you robbing a bank: if I don't report you, you have no consequences," said Hadžiavdić.

Bradara does not consider sanctions: "Believe me, I am so confident in my decision that I haven't thought about it.".

She told CIN journalists that she is very proud of her advisors and would be happy if they got the opportunity to do more responsible jobs:

"For example, to work in European integration within the Government of the Federation, to be MPs, ministers in the future.".