NO QUALITY AMONG BOSNIAKS Forto Claims Expertise Takes Priority Over Legal Ethnic Representation in the Ministry

(Patria) - Minister of Transport and Communications Edin Forto responded to the conclusions adopted by the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina during March as part of the debate on the Report on the public hearing of Minister Forto.

One of these conclusions requested that the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with Article 7 of the Law on Administration, ensure appropriate ethnic representation of civil servants and employees in line with the national structure of the population according to the latest census in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministry employs less than 30% Bosniaks, while the Directorate for Civil Aviation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has the status of an administrative organization within the Ministry, has 60 employees, 80% of whom are Serbs and only 14% Bosniaks.

The House of Representatives requested that the Ministry prepare and submit a comprehensive analysis of the total number of employees in the Ministry at its headquarters in Sarajevo, and explain how the Ministry has fewer than 100 employees, while the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina has as many as 140 employees, despite the fact that the Ministry has significantly greater legislative and executive powers than a regulatory body responsible for regulating the electronic communications and audio-visual sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications submitted a response signed by Forto, which we will consider as his position. Incidentally, Edin Forto is in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the category of Others.

Thus, Forto interprets the provisions of Article 7 of the Law on Administration, i.e., the term "appropriate national representation," and emphasizes that it is not implemented according to a strictly defined model, but rather broadly, in accordance with the principles of employment in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"This provision does not prescribe specific mechanisms through which national representation would be ensured, nor does it determine sanctions in case of deviation."

He further interprets the Law on Labor in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and emphasizes that the phrase "broadly reflects" means that a strict proportional distribution according to the national structure of the population is not established, but rather that during employment, the principle of national structure is taken into account, but not at the expense of expertise, competencies, and transparent employment procedures.

He further states that the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina implies the appointment of the best-ranked candidate regardless of his or her national affiliation, and that the Ministry has no legal authority to influence the national composition of employees.

"Competition procedures are based on the principle of expertise and competencies, which means that when selecting candidates, professional abilities are primarily assessed, not national affiliation," Forto states.

He submitted the national affiliation of 67 civil servants in the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Thus, there are 28 Bosniaks (41.79 percent), 25 Serbs (37.32%), 13 Croats (19.40%), while one civil servant declares as Others.

When it comes to administrative organizations within this ministry, the Railway Regulatory Board of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Directorate for Civil Aviation (BHDCA) independently conduct employment procedures and maintain personnel records that the Ministry does not possess. The same is the case with the Communications Regulatory Agency.

According to the responses Forto submitted in March to a parliamentary question from Jasmin Emrić, the national structure of employees looked like this: 37 Bosniaks, 38 Serbs, 17 Croats, and one from the category of Others, and these include (appointed managers, appointed persons, senior civil servants, other civil servants, employees, employees under fixed-term employment contracts, employees under service contracts).