Warning from the relevant ministry: Kozadra blocks scholarship payments for children of combatants

At yesterday's session of the Sarajevo Canton Government, the agenda item Proposal of the Decision on appointing the President and Member of the Management Board of the Sarajevo Canton Fund for Scholarships and Education of Children of Combatants, Fallen Combatants, and Fallen Civilian Victims of War "Ikre" was not supported by ministers from the SDA party.

- This is just one in a series of obstructions carried out by the acting Prime Minister Muhamed Kozadra and ministers in the Sarajevo Canton Government from the SDA party towards this ministry - stated the Ministry for Veterans' Affairs of the Sarajevo Canton.

This is supported by the fact that the Sarajevo Canton Government, despite the fully respected legal procedure, did not adopt the aforementioned proposal of this ministry's decision, for the reason that the proposed candidate with the highest scores from the Commission for the Selection of Candidates for the position of President and Member of the Management Board of the "Ikre" Fund is not the one supported and preferred by the SDA.

During the discussion of the mentioned item, the Minister of Culture and Sports, Ivica Šarić, proposed candidate Mirsad Cvrk, an SDA cadre, instead of Mirsad Medić for the member of the Management Board.

- We emphasize that Mirsad Medić had 104 points on the Proposal List of candidates who meet the competition requirements for the position of Member of the Management Board of the "Ikre" Fund, while Mirsad Cvrk scored only 61 points. Furthermore, Mirsad Medić is a disabled war veteran (RVI) and holder of the highest war recognition "Golden Lily". It is clear that the background to the non-adoption of this decision by the Sarajevo Canton Government is the favoritism of party cadres in the Management Boards, and not, as would be justified by law, the selection of the best candidate. Mirsad Cvrk was a member of the Management Board of the "Ikre" Fund in the previous convocation for a four-year term and was assessed by the members of the Commission for the Selection of Candidates for the position of President and Member of the Management Board of the Sarajevo Canton Fund for Scholarships and Education of Children of Combatants, Fallen Combatants, and Fallen Civilian Victims of War "IKRE" with a total of 61 points, because he showed insufficient knowledge in the area of the Fund's activities, the role of the Management Board of the "IKRE" Fund, all this despite his previous experience in the work of the Management Board of the Fund - stated the ministry.

For all these reasons, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs did not wish to change his Proposal of the Decision on appointing the President and Member of the Management Board of the "Ikre" Fund, and this agenda item at the Sarajevo Canton Government was not supported by ministers from the SDA party.

It should be noted that the non-adoption of this agenda item is another transparent proof of the obstruction of the normal work of this Ministry by the acting Prime Minister and members of the Government from the SDA. We emphasize the fact that at one of the Government sessions, the Draft Law on Organizers of Resistance of Sarajevo Canton was also not supported by the same group of ministers and the Prime Minister, so that it could go into parliamentary procedure.

In several instances, deputies of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly have requested the Sarajevo Canton Government through parliamentary questions to include this law on the agenda, but without a positive response. This law would define the status of organizers of resistance and participants in the organization of resistance in Sarajevo, as the most deserving for the defense of this city. We are not aware of the reasons that guided the acting Prime Minister and the ministers from the SDA when they voted against the proposed Draft Law.

Furthermore, there is an ignorant attitude from the Ministry of Finance, headed by the acting Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Muhamed Kozadra, towards the payment of obligations that the Ministry for Veterans' Affairs has in accordance with the law and the budget. Namely, the total approved and unpaid funds to the Ministry for Veterans' Affairs as of 09/12/2014 amounted to over 9,300,000.00 KM. The only thing this ministry can do are urgencies for payment to the Ministry of Finance, which are generally not respected. This manner of payment has not been observed when it comes to departments headed by ministers from the SDA.