RESPIRATOR CASE Who requested the composition of the Federal Civil Protection Headquarters to be changed

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - In the trial for abuses during the import of respirators, a witness for the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that in March last year, on the order of the director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration (FUCZ), the accused Fahrudin Solak, she prepared a proposal to amend the regulation on the work of the Federal Civil Protection Headquarters.

Enisa Bajrović, assistant director at the Administration and head of the Sector for General and Legal Affairs, said that she was a member of the Federal Civil Protection Headquarters until March 25, 2020, when changes were made to the work of this body.

She said that since the declaration of the disaster caused by the pandemic, the Headquarters had made decisions on the procurement of medical equipment and supplies. A decision from March 20 was presented, containing a tabular overview of the quantities and prices of goods for which funds were allocated.

The witness said that on April 24, at a session of the Headquarters, there was a decision without a specification of the goods being procured. She stated that Headquarters member Marina Bera opened a discussion on the procurement items, but no answer was received, and the commander of the Headquarters, the accused Jelka Milićević, proposed that the decision be removed from the agenda until the next day to be supplemented.

Bajrović said that after that, at a session of the professional collegium of the Federal Civil Protection Administration, Solak requested that the regulation on the work of the Headquarters be amended, with the explanation that the Headquarters with 21 members was not working effectively.

The witness said she did not know if the changes were proposed due to the previous removal of the decision from the agenda, so prosecutor Mirza Hukeljić reminded her that she stated in the investigation that it was said that in a "state of disaster, one should not ask for specifications." Bajrović said that this was true.

She stated that she received the task from Solak to prepare a proposal to amend the regulation on the work of the Headquarters.

Bajrović also spoke about the adoption of the decision to exempt the application of the Public Procurement Law, stating that she did not initial it because she considered it "sensitive" in terms of transparency.

The witness recalled how a colleague from the Public Procurement Department came to her office and asked her to change something in the decision on the procurement of respirators due to a technical error.

"I really thought it was a technical error, because we all make typing mistakes," said Bajrović.

To the questions of Solak's Defense, the witness confirmed that the initial composition of the Headquarters included representatives of institutions whose measures were not affected by the decisions made. She agreed that the initial decisions did not contain detailed specifications, and that the circumstances were such that urgent action had to be taken.

To the suggestion of defense attorney Marsela Bajramović that the offers and prices changed and that this is why the specification of prices and quantities was abandoned, Bajrović said that she was not aware of that.

She confirmed that the Government of the Federation did not adopt the amendments to the regulation on the work of the Headquarters in the proposed text, but that there were no substantial differences.

Federal Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, suspended director of FUCZ Fahrudin Solak, director of the company "F.H. Srebrena malina" Fikret Hodžić, as well as the company itself, are being tried for abuse of position during the procurement of respirators, and the federal Minister of Finance Jelka Milićević is charged with negligent work.

Witness Sanita Alagić, assistant director of the Federal Civil Protection Administration for accounting and financial affairs, explained how she prepared proposals for decisions on the procurement of medical equipment and supplies adopted by the Headquarters, and how public procurement was then carried out in the Sector she heads.

Alagić said that the quantities of goods in the decisions were influenced by the offers she received, as well as market research and requests from medical institutions. She added that she consulted with doctors from the Headquarters or other institutions regarding the type of equipment.

She said that she met Fikret Hodžić on April 3, when she was called to the director's office.

"[It was said] that they had found a supplier of respirators, because it was impossible to procure respirators at that time," stated Alagić.

She added that two days earlier, at a session of the Headquarters, Milićević said that there was a possibility for the procurement of respirators and that they should allocate funds for special purposes, as well as request money from current reserves.

The witness said that Milićević contacted the secretary to increase the initially planned amount of five million. She stated that she suspended some earlier decision and that in the end seven million was allocated.

To the question of prosecutor Džermin Pašić why she did not state in the proposal of the decision to allocate these funds for respirators what goods were planned for procurement. Alagić said it was just "one item".

Pašić wanted to express objections to the work of the Council after judge Branko Perić suggested that he not insist on some questions and focus on important issues. Presiding judge Džemila Begović told the prosecutor that she knew how to state her objections, but not at the hearing.

The trial continues on November 10.