Spending Without Control, Reports Without Support, and Omerović Seeks Another Term: Forest Plunder Under the Political Patronage of NiP!

Written by: Rasim Belko

The report for 2022 did not receive support in the Cantonal Assembly, and the report for 2023 did not pass the Assembly of the Cantonal Public Enterprise Sarajevo - Forests, nor did it pass in the cantonal parliament.

Today is July 2, 2025, and there is no information on the operations of KJP Sarajevo - Forests for 2024, because the current management of that company, led by Samir Omerović, feels free enough not to submit work reports. That is, reports on inaction, corruption, and nepotism, judging by the elements of reports and other documents we have seen.

But the key battle regarding this enterprise for managing Sarajevo - Forests is being waged outside the company, as a decision on the selection of a director is imminent. Two names are in the race: Samir Omerović, the current director, and Zejnil Berilo, head of one of the departments, formerly acting director of the company. According to Patria's information, the personnel commission of the People and Justice party, which controls this department, is scheduled to meet on Monday.

Part of the staff would like to see Berilo in the director's position, dissatisfied with Omerović's poor performance, while the Cantonal Minister of Economy Zlatko Mijatović is pushing for Omerović. Employees of Sarajevo - Forests claim that Mijatović promised Omerović support and retention in the director's chair due to previous party merits and interest flows, although he warned him several times about poor operations and failure to report to the Cantonal Assembly as the company's founder.

Sarajevo - Forests operated with a serious loss in 2023, i.e., a deficit of 1.57 million KM. The delayed report, which did not justify this loss, was apparently enough for the deputies not to adopt the company's report.

The Office for Audit of Institutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a qualified opinion for KJP Sarajevo - Forests for 2021, 2022, and 2023, specifically noting an unjustified loss for the latter.



In addition to poor operations and suspicious public procurements we have previously written about, Director Omerović and his group, who are wreaking havoc in Sarajevo - Forests, have most seriously engaged in hiring party, family, and other personnel on various grounds, including mistresses.

Judicial and police institutions are also dealing with the competitions they announce and rig, and the Office for the Fight against Corruption of the Canton of Sarajevo has been involved in the competition of January 17 this year.

Namely, according to a complaint by one of the competition participants (identity known to the editorial board), the Office assessed that a violation of competition procedures had occurred.



The Ministry of Interior of the Canton of Sarajevo, headed by NiP Minister Admir Katica, also played a role in the whole story. According to the opinion of KJP Sarajevo - Forests workers we spoke with, a significant number of complaints they filed against Omerović & Co were kept in the drawers of the Ministry of Interior of the Canton of Sarajevo, leading them to suspect that the top of the Ministry of Interior of the Canton of Sarajevo is protecting Omerović.

However, Omerović also has other concerns that, in a well-ordered system, would be grounds for his prosecution, but in the Canton of Sarajevo during the rule of the Troika, they are apparently irrelevant. So Omerović is promised a new term even though no one knows for sure what the company he leads did in 2024, but based on what the reports for previous years say, we can only guess.

The Trnovo Municipal Council adopted a series of conclusions on January 22 regarding the operations of KJP Sarajevo - Forests in this municipality, which, among other things, demand answers from the Management of Sarajevo - Forests explaining the illegal and criminal activities in the municipality. These conclusions also state that the municipal ombudsman will prepare and file a criminal complaint against Sarajevo - Forests for non-compliance with the Cantonal Law on Forests and Annual Plans.



It is unclear from which side it is more necessary for judicial and police institutions to enter Sarajevo - Forests, document, and prosecute inaction, crime, and corruption. Therefore, it is unacceptable and unclear how it is even possible that a director who has led a promising and profitable company into ruin for four years receives support from the minister and part of NiP for a new term.

However, although unacceptable, it is not surprising. The current government has shown all possible tendencies for personnel acrobatics, so their ministers and directors are more often at hearings, court sessions, and in custody than serving the public good. The NiP personnel commission faces a clear choice: Omerović and the continued decline of Sarajevo - Forests, or an attempt at change for the good of all.