Senaid Memić for Patria: How we made Ilidža the fourth most developed municipality in FBiH

The mayor of the Sarajevo municipality of Ilidža Senaid Memić was born in 1956 in Hrasnica. He holds a PhD from the Faculty of Agriculture in Sarajevo, where he is currently a full professor.

He took over the leadership of Ilidža five years ago. He won his first term in early elections in 2011, held after the death of the then mayor of Ilidža, Amer Ćenanović. Citizens gave him their trust again a year later, in regular elections.

In this relatively short period, Memić has transformed Ilidža into one of the most developed municipalities in the Federation of BiH, with an annual budget of around 33 million KM today. If it continues to develop at its current pace, Ilidža will very soon become the most developed municipality in BiH.

Memić has re-registered as a candidate for the mayor of Ilidža in the elections on October 2nd. As things stand, there is no serious competition. There is no doubt that he will win the elections again. And just as convincingly as four years ago.

Professor Memić and his wife Velida have two sons, Bilal and Senad. 

In an interview for Patria, he talks about future plans for the development of Ilidža.

Patria: You are one of the founders of SDA, but often a sharp critic of the party. People recognize you precisely for your strong stances; you don't hesitate to express them anywhere and at any time. Out of 143 mayors in BiH, you are one of the most cited and well-known. You are even more prominent than many high-ranking state officials, whose positions might be more prestigious than yours. How did you manage to carve out your space in today's world?

Memić: The local community is the most important. That's why everyone wants to take away its competencies. If you don't defend those competencies, then it's not right. I defend Ilidža wherever it's necessary. I don't bow my head to anyone.
Because, when you come to a position, one to which citizens have elected you, then you have the right to make decisions on certain matters in their name. I strive to do that properly.

Unfortunately, it happens that if you do your job well, you provoke jealousy in other people, even if it's baseless. And that then creates problems.

Finally, there's another problem: it's enough for the lowest of the low to call you a coward, and you're already a coward. Or, in our practice, it's enough to accuse you, and you're already guilty.

Patria: There is talk that you will win the elections again. But some were surprised when you went to perform a sacred duty of Muslims – Hajj – in the midst of the campaign. This shows that you trust your fellow citizens, even when you are not there.

Memić: You shouldn't flatter the people who elected you to power, but you should work to make things better. And I think it's evident in Ilidža that work is being done. Citizens see that. Unfortunately, some politicians think that power is for them. It's like when an imam thinks that people are lining up behind him in the mosque because of him. No, people don't pray because of the imam, but for themselves. It's the same in politics. If politicians think they shouldn't be useful to citizens, but only to themselves, then that's a problem. I think no one should take power if they don't intend to exercise it properly.

Patria: Your energy has brought Ilidža to the top of the most developed municipalities in FBiH. Ilidža is primarily a student city. But also an oasis for the representative offices of some world companies. Sarajevo is called a state within a state. Ilidža is called a state within Sarajevo? How does all this look from your perspective?

Memić: Currently, six to seven thousand students are staying in Ilidža. But we won't stop there. We are expanding the offer of educational institutions. We want to open faculties for genetics, technology, a faculty for tourism... So, we are opening all those faculties whose professions are currently attractive in the world.

Also, we need four or five new professions in secondary schools. For example, we lack cooks, upholsterers, carpenters, so we need many craftsmen.

Why are we doing all this? Well, BiH will never be an industrial country, regardless of the mines we have. Agriculture cannot be our development branch either, because it's not a development branch even in some purely agricultural countries. It's not even in Vojvodina. So, we must be rich in human resources. And that's why the basis of our development must be education.

Patria: Recently, there has been a lot of talk about some new projects in Ilidža. Even about some multi-million investments. How do you see Ilidža in the next four years?

Memić: We are currently educating students in Ilidža, but we will soon start developing large technology centers, such as a software development center. We will build a large center that will house IT companies.

We plan to build New Ilidža. The land alone for this large project is worth 60 or 70 million KM. Even if the Canton takes that money, we will still live off taxes, our people will be employed, it will be a large construction site from which we will all benefit...

Patria: Can these large projects slow down the development of small infrastructure, which is also important for people in their neighborhoods?

Memić: Not at all. We plan to asphalt every road where there are more than three houses. The lighting of all streets in the municipality will be completed by the middle of next year, we are continuing to finance the gas network, the construction of schools, and we plan to complete the sewage system...

Patria: Why do people want to invest in Ilidža and not in some other municipalities? What do you tell them that makes them agree to bring money to you and not go elsewhere? What do you have that other mayors don't, even though many of them come from the same party as you?

Memić: We give people guarantees that they are safe in Ilidža. And they know that I will not betray them. So, no one will bring large sums of money if they are not protected. People want their investments to be secure.

As for municipal bureaucracy, everything is at the service of investors. And that is very important for them. We try to simplify procedures as much as we can. All of this has led to us having a lot of work. Our work has brought us among the most developed municipalities in BiH. We are fourth in terms of development. Our annual budget is 33 million KM, and we have no problem filling it. We are even very little reliant on the Canton. Although we will ask for that to change. We have given the Canton enough time to fix itself; now it should finish some things in Ilidža. Other municipalities in the Canton cannot be built on our backs.

You can also look at it this way. The first municipality in terms of development is Centar municipality, with a budget of 45 million. But some state institutions are located in this municipality, and that largely fills their budget. The next most developed municipality is Čitluk. Two million tourists visit them because of the Virgin Mary. Tourists leave them money. The third most developed municipality in FBiH is Žepče. They have Zovko, which is a distributor of lubricants. And after them comes Ilidža, which doesn't have all that wind at its back. We only have ourselves. And we fight. We don't bow our heads, and we don't beg anyone for anything.

Patria: If you look at Ilidža, one can conclude that there is still hope for BiH. That this can indeed be a prosperous country. People in BiH can be satisfied.

Memić: Bosnia and Herzegovina is a rich country. Every part of it is rich. Why would it be nicer to live in Novi Grad than in Rogatica? In Rogatica, you have the opportunity to have thousands of hectares of healthy land, you have the opportunity to produce healthy food, and you can have all the conditions for life without much effort.

Look, Germany is also green, but it doesn't have regions where a person feels peace and freedom, and Bosnia and Herzegovina does.