Ministering in Bosnia: What good are skills, intelligence is at the headquarters

By Rasim Belko

Give young people a chance to lead the country, were the slogans of a past era. Foreign diplomats and domestic politicians have called on us to do so before. In the last election cycle, a trend of rejuvenating the political scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina is noticeable, although it is still far from what is needed.

Draško Stanivuković, Jelena Trivić, Lana Prlić, Nihad Čolpa, Arijana Memić… are some of the young people in parliamentary benches at various levels within BiH.

And without hesitation, it could be said that this is probably the right path for Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were nominated, the people voted for them, and it is up to them to show and prove whether they can and will work for a better tomorrow.

Young people are educated for the new era, they grew up with new technology, and with immeasurably greater energy, they have the predisposition to do many things better than their predecessors.

But what about the young people who, after signing their diplomas, become ministers. They were chosen by the party, not the people. And it has long been clear how and why parties appoint their cadres to ministerial positions. With exceptions, they are mostly puppets of party leaders and interests. The BiH public was taken aback when the Zenica "hookah king" and YouTuber Arnel Isak was appointed Minister of Spatial Planning, Transport and Communications and Environmental Protection. Arnel is the son of Ram Isak, president of the SDA-AS Cantonal Board, and it was rumored in the corridors that Isak Sr. had set the appointment of his son to the position of minister as a key condition for forming a new government. Thus, 23-year-old Arnel Isak, an innovator of cabbage and Nutella hookahs, will take care of the construction and appearance of Zenica, as well as environmental protection.

And then a new government of the Bosni Podrinje Canton was formed. And in the government, Nizama Rašljanin, with a diploma from the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo, specifically the Department of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian Language and Literature of the Peoples of BiH. She was appointed to the position by Goražde Story. And so, Rišljanin exchanged the student classroom for a ministerial cabinet, and became the Minister of Internal Affairs, no less. In her biography, she states that she is capable of coexistence and competent in communication. When it comes to organizational skills, Rišljanin states that "in every job, it is important to know what everyone's obligations and tasks are." It could be said in advance that her obligation will be to fulfill party tasks. And since she likes to write prose and poetry, we fear transparent laws and poetic decisions.

Nizama's slightly older colleague in the BPK Government will be Edin Aganović, a doctor of veterinary sciences and a master of one health, who was entrusted with leading the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs. Aganović has been a veterinary inspector in the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Supervision of BPK since 2011. With veterinary inspection experience, he was nominated for the position of Minister of Veterans' Affairs by the Party of BiH, and the quality of that party's political action is indicated by the fact that it is present in trace amounts on the BiH political scene.

Mensud Arnaut is not young, but he will be the Minister of Economy. A former officer of the Army of BiH and a pre-war Goražde parliamentarian, he traveled to the Netherlands to obtain a manager's certificate in leadership. After becoming a manager in leadership, he was a teacher of chemistry and biology at the "Ustikolina" Elementary School. Then he studied again, first becoming a professor, and then a master of physical and health education. According to his official biography, Arnaut liked to attend seminars, and he was even the president of the local community twice, for which he was awarded the Plaque of Goražde. The above was enough for the A-SDA and Independent Bloc parties to install him as Minister of Economy. Now, instead of seminars, Arnaut will be able to attend trade fairs at the public expense.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is no longer facing a brain drain; those who were talented left long ago. Now they are successful and recognized people in other countries. They worked and step by step became recognized and known for their work. And we, who remained, will continue to endure the nepotism and arrogance of those who promise us heaven and earth during campaigns. A new campaign will be here soon.