KS Government Can Also Halt KCUS Funding, Mandić Initiated Board Appointment Procedure

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – The Minister of Health of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vjekoslav Mandić, has sent a decision on the appointment of two members of the KCUS Board of Directors, appointed by the KS Government, for an opinion to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Justice and the Office for Legislation before it is considered at the FBiH Government session, it was confirmed for the Patria News Agency from the FBiH Government. The FBiH Government clarified that this is a standard procedure that all documents to be considered by the FBiH Government go through.

On August 22, the KS Government appointed Ismet Gavrankapetanović as president and Belma Kapo as a member of the Board of Directors, replacing Jasmin Kapetanović and Dželaludin Junuzović. In the space left because the FBiH Government did not consider this appointment, the legally questionable Board of Directors and President Kapetanović initiated the procedure for electing a new general director of KCUS.

The Minister of Health of KS, Amela Sofić, did not answer questions from the Patria News Agency about the next steps that can be taken due to the non-appointment of Board of Directors members, but Elmedin Konaković spoke on behalf of the KS Assembly as its speaker.

He pointed out that Sarajevo Canton is a two-thirds financier of KCUS, and the annual tranche is over 140 million KM.

“We are monitoring the situation and expect the FBiH Government to enforce the laws. If the FBiH Government does not allow the appointment of two members of the Board of Directors on behalf of the co-founder Sarajevo Canton, it will force the KS Government to take radical measures. What they are doing is a show of force, but we will protect our interests by all means,” Konaković told NAP.

When asked if the payment of the tranche to KCUS could be stopped, given that the KS Government's decision on appointing Board of Directors members was not respected, Konaković said that this is also one of the possible measures.

During the day, information arrived that Mandić had initiated the procedure for the appointment to be on the agenda of the next FBiH Government session.

The current composition of the Board of Directors is in a legal vacuum, and any signature by the dismissed president Jasmin Kapetanović would be legally questionable, and perhaps subject to criminal charges and investigation.