Will Sebija Izetbegović become the Director of UKCS after the Management Board is replaced?

Behind last week's Decision of the Government of the Federation of BiH on the abrupt dismissal of the Management Board of the University Clinical Center Sarajevo lies the years-long desire of the "first lady among Bosniaks" to finally get the director's chair of the largest clinical center in BiH, writes the Patria news agency.

Although the Government sent a brief statement after the session that the Management Board was dismissed due to the expiration of the members' mandates, those familiar with the events around UKCS know that this is an illegal decision.

The mandates of all Management Board members have not expired, but this did not prevent the ministers from SDA, HDZ BiH, and SBB from voting for the decision served to them by Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, following the directive of SDA president Bakir Izetbegović and his wife Sebija Izetbegović, the current director of the General Hospital "Prim. dr. Abdulah Nakaš" in Sarajevo.

The dismissal of the Management Board members and the appointment of new ones will pave the way for the dismissal of the current director of UKCS, Prof. Dr. Rusmir Mesihović, who was appointed to that position through a competition on January 14, 2015.

Knowing the way Mrs. Izetbegović has acted and operated so far when it comes to her pursuit of healthcare institutions she has targeted, it should not be surprising if some "illegalities" or "poor business practices" are found in Mesihović's work as an excuse for his dismissal, for which the new Management Board will be responsible.

As a reminder, in 2013, Bakir Nakaš was removed from the position of director of the General Hospital "Prim. dr. Abdulah Nakaš", and the Management Board, interestingly, chose Sebija Izetbegović, who until then held the position of director of disciplines at the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics at Jezero.

Two years later, precisely after Mesihović's appointment in January 2015, the "first lady among Bosniaks" wished to become the director of UKCS.

Just ten days after Mesihović was appointed director of UKCS, Sebija Izetbegović, who, as has been unprecedented in any country, experienced professional advancement only after her husband became a member of the Presidency of BiH and strengthened his positions in the SDA, ardently desired that very position.

Every possible effort was made to challenge and overturn Mesihović's appointment. Because after she won the director's position at the General Hospital "Prim. dr. Abdulah Nakaš", the "first lady" felt it was not enough, and reserved the UKCS chair for herself. According to her instructions, former cantonal health minister Eldan Lokmić raised issues regarding this appointment at a Government session. However, the plan failed because the KS Government is not competent for any of the issues Lokmić raised.

And that is why a fantastic opportunity has now arisen. The Management Board has been swept away, a new one will be appointed, which will find all of Mesihović's sins, announce a competition where, logically, the best candidate will be Seka Izetbegović.

The naive proposed their candidates

A few days ago, a meeting of the Health Council was held at the SDA headquarters, where the appointment of the UKCS director was discussed. Naive members of the Council began proposing candidates. Among others, Dr. Mirsad Kacila and Mevludin Mekić were mentioned. They received a message from Mrs. Izetbegović that this was her position, and that the matter was settled.