THEY DROPPED THE BALL IN HONEY How Srđan Mandić distributed money to the company Dinalsa, which procured the most expensive kiosk

(Patria) - In the autumn of 2018, the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board announced a tender for the selection of a contractor who would design and build a tourist info desk. What attracted public attention and led to a major scandal was the price of 252,000 KM for this 15-square-meter project.

The media reported at the time that Midhat Hubjer (SDA) signed the contract on behalf of the KS Tourist Board with Nusret Bajramović, director of the company Dinalsa.

KS Minister of Economy Haris Bašić later presented data that a court expert estimated the kiosk's value to be actually 19,900 KM. Therefore, it remained unclear on what basis the company Dinalsa could submit an offer of as much as 250,000 KM.

What is most interesting in the whole story is that some officials of the Trojka, as soon as they took power, continued intensive cooperation with this company, which they accused of participating in embezzlement of money, and one of the most active in doing business with it was the mayor of Centar, Srđan Mandić.

In May 2022 alone, the Municipality of Centar signed two contracts with the company Dinalsa. The first, on May 20, 2022, for the renovation of the Festina Lente bridge, in the amount of 400,864 KM with VAT, based on the offer submitted by the director of Dinalsa, Nusret Bajramović.

Councilors from Narod i pravda (NiP) fiercely criticized this move, pointing out that 205,000 KM was initially allocated for the bridge reconstruction, and then this amount doubled to 400,864 KM.

"And with the contractor - Dinalsa d.o.o., a company with which the mayor regularly works, and which is also known for its work on the famous kiosk," NiP stated.

The second contract that Mayor Mandić signed with the director of Dinalsa, Bajramović, in May 2022, is for the execution of works on the renovation of the plateau in front of the Bičakčić building (pedestrian square at the intersection of Kranjčevićeva and Maršala Tita streets).

The total amount of this contract is 74,009 KM, which is too much considering that it is a very small area.

The Democratic Front candidate for mayor of Centar, Dennis Gratz, stated in one of his recent appearances that the Municipality of Centar paid Dinalsa 215 KM per square meter, while, for example, the Municipality of Ilidža paid 150 KM for the renovation of the pedestrian zone of Sabit Hadžić Square and Školski trg.

To complete the story, the Municipality signed another, additional contract with Dinalsa for the maintenance of this square, in the amount of 19,133 KM.

In addition to the aforementioned, Mandić signed a large contract with Dinalsa for the renovation of Merhemića trg during his term, in the amount of 876,821 KM.

Dinalsa also received a contract for the adaptation and arrangement of the counter hall in the Municipality building. The total amount, signed by Mayor Mandić and director Bajramović, was 58,425 KM.

When the total amount of all the mentioned contracts is summed up, it is evident that the Municipality of Centar allocated more than 1.4 million marks to the company, which the Trojka, and primarily the leader of NiP, Elmedin Konaković, accused of participating in the embezzlement of public money in the kiosk case, in 2022 and 2023 alone.

Considering that the amount Mandić paid to Dinalsa ultimately turned out to be twice the planned amount, there are numerous questions that will have to be answered to the public, as well as to the judicial institutions.

(F.L.)