SCANDAL IN ACADEMIC COMMUNITY Mesihović and Kalamujić withholding UNSA salaries until acting rector is appointed

(Patria) - More than 2,700 University of Sarajevo employees will not receive their November salaries today due to the Ministry of Higher Education's demand for the appointment of an acting rector, as the election of rector Tarik Zaimović was annulled. The Ministry, headed by Adna Mesihović (ZNG), rejects claims that the payment of hard-earned income to University of Sarajevo employees has been jeopardized by the Sarajevo Canton Government, specifically the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth. Both Mesihović and Kalamujić come from ZNG, the movement of Damir Marjanović, a member of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly.

In a press release, Mesihović stated the following:

1. Funds secured

The Sarajevo Canton Government has secured funds for the payment of salaries to UNSA employees. The Ministry of Finance and the Sarajevo Canton Government are prepared to carry out all payment procedures once the University of Sarajevo and the UNSA Senate provide signatures that do not come from unauthorized persons.

2. Obstruction by University Management

The entire process is being obstructed by individuals from the University management who have been reported by their colleagues from the academic community, and the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs has determined that the law was violated in the processes and procedures of the rector's election. These individuals continue to violate the law and refuse to respect the decisions of the official institutions of Sarajevo Canton.

In this way, in order to achieve personal goals, they are holding nearly 3,000 University of Sarajevo employees hostage. It is interesting that these individuals, according to the information available to us, have not yet initiated the long-announced legal proceedings to challenge the cantonal inspectors' decisions, thereby further prolonging the blockade of the entire process. It is extremely unfair and inappropriate to hold University employees hostage in this process and to use their salaries, projects, and other obligations as a shield to achieve personal goals related to legally authorizing a representative.

3. Legality and Ministry's Proposal

As responsible and legalistic individuals, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton are acting exclusively in accordance with current legal regulations. For payments from the budget, among other things, the signature of the authorized representative, registered in the court register, is required. Anything else would be illegal. Since the procedure for registering the authorized representative in the court register has not yet been completed, no one is authorized to sign the necessary documents. In order to protect the rights of UNSA employees, the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton has proposed the only correct legal solution: appointing a temporary acting rector at an extraordinary session of the UNSA Senate, which would enable the normal performance of the rector's functions until a repeated, legally correct election. We note that this acting rector is not appointed by any inspection or ministry, but by legitimate members of the Senate, thus in no way infringing upon the academic freedom of this esteemed body and its members.

This process is currently being blocked by several individuals gathered around the professor whose election to the position of rector was annulled.

4. Unauthorized Requests and Attempts at Illegal Actions

This blockade, if it continues, aims to create pressure on official institutions by blocking salaries for their colleagues and shifting responsibility to anyone but themselves. In this blockade, they are pushing their colleagues, the deans of the faculties, to the forefront, who are sending individual requests, knowing that these colleagues do not have legally valid powers of attorney, because with the departure of the former rector, all powers of attorney, as well as powers of attorney for legal representatives, became invalid. In this way, they want not only to create a blockade but also to lead to someone else violating the law in their business operations.

5. Blockade and Damage to Students

This blockade, caused by the intentional postponement of the appointment of an acting rector, also harms University students, as it leads to the postponement of the formal promotion of those who have earned their degrees and diplomas. Unfortunately, due to all the irregularities, students are deprived of the recognition of their achievements.

6. Solution through the Management Board

Under these conditions, regardless of all obstructions, the relevant Ministry has initiated all processes to find a legal solution that would bypass the blockades imposed by the aforementioned lawbreakers on their colleagues. Therefore, the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton has offered the Sarajevo Canton Government a temporary one-time solution for the payment of November salaries to employees, according to which, with a broad interpretation of authority, the Management Board could be recognized as the body that would compensate for the lack of a rector in financial activities. Unfortunately, one of the members of the Management Board, close to the Sarajevo Canton Government, disputes this possibility and suggests that the Ministry and the minister accept the signature of an unauthorized person, thereby violating the law and degrading the decisions of the official cantonal inspection, which will of course not happen.

7. Conclusion

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton, as well as the relevant ministers, are acting exclusively in accordance with the law. All attempts by the disputed University leadership, misleading the public, hiding behind the rights of employees, and blaming the Government or ministers based on political affiliation are neither ethically nor legally acceptable.

The Ministries will continue to operate in accordance with current laws. Salaries have been secured and are ready for payment, but the entire process is blocked by those who violate the law and do not wish to temporarily give up their positions, even though they are harming their colleagues. The Ministry has offered two legally possible solutions and is prepared to continue with all further activities in accordance with current regulations.