Transparency Sarajevo-Style: KS Ministry of Transport Hides Contract for Advertising on GRAS Vehicles

(Patria) - The Ministry of Transport of Sarajevo Canton (KS) refused to publish the contract with the Banja Luka marketing agency Info Media Group for advertising on and in GRAS vehicles, writes Istraga.ba.

The request for access to this information was submitted by the Democratic Front MP in the KS Assembly, Albin Zuhrić, after Istraga published documents proving that GRAS had to use old trams in service to fulfill the contract with the mentioned agency.

"The request of the Democratic Front for access to information regarding the provision of information and documents: the Rulebook on Advertising in Public Transport and all concluded contracts with marketing agencies whose subject is advertising in and on public city transport vehicles in KS is rejected," reads the Decision of the KS Ministry of Transport dated March 10.



Explaining why they do not want to provide the information, i.e., the contract for public inspection, the Ministry stated that they are protecting the commercial interests of the company Info Media Group, which does not want the contract to be published?!

In its response dated March 6, 2026, Info Media Group d.o.o. states that this contract was undoubtedly concluded with a public authority, but at the same time, it is a binding bilateral legal transaction containing a series of commercial, financial, and technical elements.

"The publication of such elements could lead to the disclosure of market-sensitive data and damage the Company's competitive position, produce a wrong perception in the public if certain provisions were extracted from their normative and economic context.

The Company specifically points out that in the past period, claims regarding the contract in question were made in certain media outlets that were factually incomplete and legally unfounded, and that in this regard, there is a real and objective risk that a selective and tendentious interpretation of certain contractual provisions could affect the damage to the Company's business reputation, reduce the trust of business partners, and result in material and non-material damage."

Furthermore, in their response, they state that they reserve the right to take appropriate legal steps before the competent authorities and bodies in order to protect their rights and interests.

"Considering that the requested information contains confidential commercial interests of a third party, in accordance with Article 7 of the Law on Free Access to Information in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an exception to the disclosure of the requested information is established," states the Ministry's Decision rejecting the DF's request.



Therefore, the Ministry led by Minister Adnan Šteta refuses to provide the contract for the disposal of advertising space of the public enterprise, citing the "confidential commercial interests" of a private company - even though it is a contract concluded with a public authority and the use of public resources. And precisely such contracts should be under special public scrutiny.

Instead of conducting a public interest test, which is a key obligation under the Law on Free Access to Information (ZoSPI), the Ministry has practically fully accepted and adopted the arguments of the private company, without any critical assessment.

The claims that the publication of the contract could "damage the business reputation" of Info Media Group or lead to a "wrong perception in the public" are completely arbitrary and unsubstantiated. This is because it is a private agency that has its interests, and there is nothing wrong with them concluding a contract with GRAS. However, it is highly problematic that contracts related to GRAS, which is a public enterprise, as well as those related to the renovation of the tram line, are persistently hidden from citizens.

It is indicative that the KS Ministry of Transport did not even attempt to apply the institute of partial access to information in this case. This means that even if certain parts of the contract may be "sensitive," ZoSPI clearly provides for the possibility of excluding or redacting such parts, but the rest of the document must be available to the public.

The rejection of the request in its entirety solely indicates an avoidance of transparency under the guise of protecting the business interests of a third party. The argument that citizens might "misunderstand" the content of the contract is particularly problematic. Such a stance implies that institutions grant themselves the right to decide what the public may and may not know, which is contrary to all fundamental principles of transparency and democratic accountability.

From the Ministry's refusal to provide the contract, we also learned something else interesting - the Rulebook on Advertising in Public Transport Vehicles in Sarajevo does not exist at all!

"Considering that no material law gives the Minister of Transport the authority to issue such a rulebook, it has not been issued," the Ministry states.

The contract for advertising on GRAS vehicles will thus remain hidden from public view for the time being, not because the law requires it, but because the cantonal Ministry of Transport has decided to hide behind the interests of a private company. Or to put private interest above public interest, as you wish. And precisely such an approach most encourages the suspicion that something is being hidden.