FBiH Government to Discuss Seal Stolen by Fehim Bekan Today!

One of the agenda items at today's session of the FBiH Government is the verification of the Decision on authorization for signing acts and the custody and use of the seal of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, writes the BiH news agency Patria. 

We remind you that the Patria news agency wrote yesterday about the theft of this Ministry's seal, which was appropriated by General Secretary Fehim Bekan, effectively blocking the Ministry for several weeks. This jeopardizes more than 500,000 beneficiaries of the Ministry, mostly vulnerable populations, pensioners, disabled persons…

According to sources, Bekan will keep the seal for a few more weeks, until the formation of the new Federal Government and the appointment of a new minister. However, he will not need the seal for much longer. Bekan will use the vacuum and the seal to fill six vacant positions in this ministry with cadres loyal to him.

This is not new for Bekan. According to sources, he orchestrated the same scenario four years ago, during the transitional period between Minister Perica Jelečević and Vjekoslav Čamber, when he appointed at least seven of his people to key positions in the Ministry, who still work under his direction.

The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office has received a criminal complaint against Bekan for unauthorized possession of the seal, but the Prosecutor's Office has not yet made a statement.

When asked by Patria journalists how it is possible for Bekan to illegally hold the Ministry's seal without police and prosecution intervention, sources simply stated:

- Bekan does not hide that he has control over the Sarajevo police, the Prosecutor's Office, and even the FBiH Government.

On January 30, the Government of the Federation of BiH issued a decision appointing Stjepan Buconjić to sign decisions within the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, payment orders for the financial obligations of this ministry, as well as other acts. The FBiH Government made this decision after Minister Vjekoslav Čamber resigned from his position.

However, according to sources, Secretary Bekan did not like this, as he had planned that position for himself to fill vacant positions in the Ministry with his cadres, after which the obstruction of Buconjić's work began.

Five days after his appointment, Buconjić suspended Bekan and banned him from entering the Ministry building, and sent a criminal complaint against him to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of abuse of office.

However, neither the secretary respects the decision of his superior Buconjić, nor does the Prosecutor's Office react to the criminal complaint.

Instead, Patria's sources claim, a few days after the criminal complaint, Bekan illegally took the Ministry's seal from the office, effectively blocking the work of this government institution.

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is one of the key ministries in the FBiH Government, managing over 300 million KM annually.

Fehim Bekan has previously been accused of abusing his position as general secretary of this ministry, after which he was dismissed by the OHR. He was reinstated in 2004, writes Patria.