Osmanagić Accuses Minister Hrenovica, for the Ministry of Economy Company Neretva Does Not Exist!?

The director of the reputable Bosnian state-owned company „Neretva“ from Sarajevo has filed a criminal complaint against the Minister of Economy of Sarajevo Canton Emir Hrenovica, accusing him that the ministry he heads did not take sufficient measures to save Neretva, the only state-owned company dealing with the production of orthopedic aids, from collapse, although they were legally obliged to do so, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

Senad Osmanagić sued Minister Emir Hrenovica last week for defamation, which the minister made in the newspapers against him as the head of Neretva, and now Osmanagić has also filed a criminal complaint against Hrenovica with the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, because, he claims, the ministry headed by Hrenovica did not adequately respond to the calls of Neretva's management to help overcome problems in this company, which has a tradition of more than 60 years.

- The way Minister Hrenovica treats Neretva is a previously seen scenario, which he uses to ruin the company and its management – Osmanagić reacted sharply, adding:

- But, more than his actions, I am concerned that the authorities of Sarajevo Canton allow the minister to treat state property so poorly. For months we have been trying to get support from this ministry, which is also their legal obligation, but unfortunately, it most often fails to materialize – says Osmanagić.

Neretva is operating with increasing difficulty, and at the beginning of December, the Municipal Court in Sarajevo sold the only production building of Neretva in the center of Sarajevo to settle part of the debts to some workers, which further complicated and hindered the company's operations.

Osmanić will also appeal this decision of the Municipal Court, because, he claims, a crime worth several hundred thousand marks was committed during the sale of the building.

The production building of Neretva in Kemal-begova Street, about 150 meters from the building of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an area of 800 square meters, was sold for only 270,000 KM, although the building is worth at least six to seven times more.

Osmanić has been warning for months about the injustice the authorities are doing to Neretva, and several times he has called on financial inspections and police investigators to check the company's operations for the last twenty years, but this has not happened to date.

It is obvious, says Osmanagić, that the goal of certain structures in Sarajevo Canton is to cover up numerous illegalities from the earlier period regarding the disposal and sale of movable and immovable property owned by Neretva, by bringing Neretva into a state of illiquidity and its eventual liquidation.

The Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton distances itself from responsibility for the difficult situation in Neretva.

They explain that they do not have a legal framework based on which they could help this company. The Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton claims that Neretva legally does not exist, because the management of Neretva did not harmonize the legal status of Neretva in accordance with the Law on Business Entities, an omission that has been "carried over" from the period between 1999 and 2008.