Nikšić, be ashamed: Call Novalić and ask what pressure is, maybe you'll understand why Lasić and Pravdić aren't responding!

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

It has been clear for a long time that Nermin Nikšić, Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, does not lead the FBiH Government in the way a prime minister should, and it seems he is only prime minister for SDP cadres (if even for them), while other government members answer to NIP and HDZ.

The crystal clarity of the FBiH Government's incompetence is reflected in the recent events when Jablanica and parts of Herzegovina were hit by a devastating flood, which also washed away 70 meters of railway and froze the economy in the Federation of FBiH.

The fact that Nikšić admitted he also bears responsibility because nothing has happened for two months regarding reconstruction does not absolve him, as admitting responsibility without any consequences means nothing to the citizens. Especially not to businessmen and companies, which are suffering huge damage, nor to JP Željeznice FBiH itself.

How much Nikšić's word and command are obeyed is best illustrated by the events at the FBiH Government session where the discussion on railway reconstruction took place on November 19, 2024.

The director of Željeznice FBiH Enis Džafić, as well as the director of Ceste FBiH Ljubo Pravdić, and the director of Autoceste Denis Lasić were also invited to this session.

However, only Džafić appeared at this session, who was also dismissed at the same session, while Pravdić and Lasić did not even show up, nor did they send replacements!? The FBiH Government did not announce anything about this. Is it necessary to point out that both Pravdić and Lasić are HDZ cadres, and it is quite normal in the FBiH Government for them not to listen to Prime Minister Nikšić's requests.

However, we can see how lost the Federal Government is in procedures from the assignments given to the Federal Civil Protection Administration to urgently prepare an initiative for amendments to the law on public procurement for the FBiH Government!?

And precisely in this example, we see a clear difference between the previous FBiH Government, headed by Fadil Novalić, who was convicted in a highly compromised process for which the Constitutional Court of BiH finally made a decision. That FBiH Government in 2020 faced a much more severe state of emergency than what we are currently witnessing in Jablanica.

At that time, the whole world, hit by the coronavirus pandemic, faced challenges of various breakdowns, from large human losses to economic collapse.

That government knew the steps then. On March 16, 2020, the Government sent an Initiative to the PSBiH, the Council of Ministers, and the Public Procurement Agency of BiH for urgent amendments to the Law on Public Procurement.



An amendment to Article 10 of the Law was sought, "in order to ensure an exemption from the application of this law for the procurement of medical equipment, medical supplies, disinfectants, as well as other protective equipment for the purpose of suppressing the spread of coronavirus".

The then director of the Public Procurement Agency, Đenan Salčin, told the FBiH Government at the time that there was no need to amend the Law on Public Procurement, as the existing legal framework already allowed for urgent procurement through a negotiated procedure.




That there was indeed a need, Novalić would learn expensively later, at the cost of his freedom, as well as Fahrudin Solak and Fikret Hodžić.

Now Nikšić doesn't even have the courage to take a valid step, because the FUCZ doesn't need to be addressed, but the Government needs to address the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are competent because the Law on Public Procurement falls under the jurisdiction of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the authority of BiH.

However, Nikšić is going in the completely opposite direction, by which he can hardly reach the desired goal. Because even the session of the FBiH Parliament came with a delay, meeting extraordinarily two months after the floods, and reconstruction is standing still. Winter is approaching relentlessly fast, and public dissatisfaction is growing.

Hiding behind procedures will not help the FBiH Government, nor the citizens. Perhaps instead of the remark addressed to Enis Džafić, Deputy Prime Minister Vojin Mijatović, 'don't hide behind the law here', should have been directed to Nikšić.

"Unfortunately, we live in such a system where there are so many pressures and talk about systemic limitations, reports that people even in responsible positions shy away from any initiative and responsibility. Although we received the consent of the European Bank, these companies had doubts about whether they were exceeding their jurisdiction, whether someone would be held accountable, and we lost a month arguing about these administrative obstacles," Nikšić said today.

And he could have learned all about the pressures from Novalić, if he had asked him, but he didn't; he was one of those who created pressure back in 2020.

And I would add, the fate of all of us is in the hands of uneducated cowards and riff-raff. Nikšić said they were a little ashamed, but also proud. To be more precise - you should be very ashamed, and you have nothing to be proud of. Thank Čengiz and Turkey, and apologize to them for previous claims that Turkey invests little in BiH, while investing billions in Serbia!