PM Uk doesn't know what to do: Won't initiate dismissal of Minister Mesihović, hopes for her return, calls for political agreement

(Patria) - Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton Nihad Uk said he hopes to soon have a minister of higher education at full capacity, given that for three months this department has been managed by the Minister of Justice and Administration Darja Softić-Kadenić, following the arrest of Minister Adna Mesihović. Although Mesihović has been released from custody, she is under restrictive measures, and her suspension has been extended precisely at Uk's proposal.

"The court has imposed additional measures; ten people she cannot meet with are largely Ministry employees, and it would be somewhat unnatural to have a minister who cannot actually enter the Ministry. That is why I asked the Assembly committee to extend, i.e., renew the suspension that already existed.

I sincerely hope this saga will end in the next few weeks. That a legal solution will be found, given that these measures have been left in limbo; we still haven't received anything official from the court, even though we requested it. We obtained those decisions through private channels to see the essence of these measures. I expect a political agreement among the parties of the Troika, i.e., the ZNG, on which direction to take. I have emphasized that I will not wait long and that, if this situation remains, I will initiate processes to find a new minister for that department," Uk said on TVSA's Špica show.

He said he expects everything to be resolved at the next session of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly in September.

He left open the option for Mesihović to return to her position if the restrictive measures are lifted.

Mesihović was arrested on April 10, and the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office suspects her of abuse of office in the context of illegal hirings at the Ministry.