Forgetful Nermin Nikšić and HDZ's Crime in the Motorways: Selective Justice and a 'Smorgasbord' System!

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

It was the year 2020/2021 when Patria began publishing suspicious procurements in the JP Autoceste FBiH. Sources, mostly high-ranking SDP officials, brought startling documents. From the fact that the Motorways bought a vehicle for 701,415 KM, but parked it in Bijača while another company maintains the roads, to the procurement of unusable mowers for 210,600 KM, with the job waiting for Jelka Milićević's (HDZ) son-in-law, that two million KM were wasted on fire trucks from which water leaks and the turn signals work in counter-rhythm, to the fact that half a million KM was invested in buzzers, while animals sleep soundly in the tunnels!

And it was expected that someone would prosecute such unprofessional activities. When Nermin Nikšić returned to the position of Prime Minister, a comprehensive criminal complaint was expected, because he was aware of all this. But, no! His complaint was directed at more recent dates. One goal – Elmedin Voloder. And as lawyers and politicians would say, let the judiciary do its job.

The problem in BiH is that it does not do its job properly, more precisely, it works selectively, as politics dictates.

Thus, the Prosecutor's Office responds swiftly and begins prosecuting Voloder and others, just as they swiftly halted the investigation against Nikšić for the Vareš case! The HDZ is nowhere to be found. The stories from 2021 are forgotten, even though they mostly originated thanks to people in the SDP headquarters!

So, let's refresh our memories.

After the story about the procurement of a multi-purpose vehicle for the needs and maintenance of motorways worth a dizzying 701,415 KM including VAT, which was awarded to the bidder UNI-COM d.o.o. Orašje, and which stands parked in Bijača, we also brought the story about the procurement of robotic and manual mowers for maintenance needs in the amount of 210,600 KM.

The contract was awarded to the company "Džida" from Čitluk. As the sole, and therefore the most favorable bidder, they concluded a deal worth 210,600 KM with JP Autoceste FBiH for the procurement of robotic and manual mowers for maintenance needs.

The most contentious issue, besides the fact that usually only one company responds to public calls, is that the mowers are unusable on sections of the highway, given that they are heavy and intended for golf courses, not the steep slopes along the motorway.

As with the procurement of the multi-purpose vehicle, the scheme was the same with the supply of mowers.

"Džida" as the sole bidder eventually concluded the deal, under the baton of Marin Jelčić, Executive Director for Management and Maintenance of JP Autoceste. Jelčić is a cadre of HDZ BiH and sovereignly ruled public procurements in JP Autoceste FBiH.

Marin Jelčić (HDZ BiH) previously worked at Croatia osiguranje and had no managerial experience. Jelčić was also in the structures of HDZ BiH Mostar.

In a very simple analysis, you come across data that mostly companies with a Croatian prefix appear as the sole bidders, which is also the case in the procurement of robotic and manual mowers.

JP Autoceste FBiH turned a deaf ear at the time to all calls and inquiries from the Patria agency, which we sent multiple times, requesting answers to questions.

The Motorways did not want to answer at the time which external associates-companies they have a contract for motorway maintenance and what is the value of those contracts?
We also wrote publicly about the employment of Dario Đolo, otherwise the son-in-law of the former Minister of Finance in the FBiH Government, Jelka Milićević.

Đolo came to public attention in 2017 when it was announced that he was employed without a competition in the Banking Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which then claimed that the information on whether Dario Đolo, the son-in-law of the Federal Minister of Finance Jelka Milićević, was employed without a competition in the FBiH Banking Agency does not constitute a public interest!?

It is known that already in 2017, the number of employees in the Motorways exceeded 400, and the question is how many officials work in this company today and what exactly they do, when they manage an identical number of kilometers of motorway and at the same time have a drastically reduced number of active construction sites compared to the previous period.

The management of the FBiH Motorways has never yet presented information on the current number of employees in this public company with a breakdown of the positions they work in, and the employment plan for the upcoming period.

The arrival of Lasić as director of JP Autoceste, who was previously the line minister in this area, is a separate story. Also uninteresting for Nikšić.

We remind you that the previous Management of JP Autoceste FBiH, in the period from 2021 to 2023, established a so-called "blacklist" as a preventive measure against corruption and irregularities in public procurement, in accordance with the Law on the Motorway on Corridor Vc.

The list included companies that attempted to cheat in public procurement procedures, as well as those where improper execution of works was observed – deviations from the contract.

Information about these companies was immediately shared with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which launched independent investigations and which finance the construction of the corridor and road infrastructure through credit borrowing.

However, with the arrival of the current director Denis Lasić (HDZ BiH) and the Management at the helm of the FBiH Motorways, controversial decisions were also made, which precisely concern the companies that were on the so-called "blacklist". Lasić, we recall, was the Minister of Transport and Communications in the earlier convocation of the FBiH Government. Lasić and the rest of the Management, upon taking office, annulled the valid decisions that placed certain domestic and international companies on the blacklist.

As a reason for the annulment, they stated that the decisions were prepared by an unauthorized person and that they did not go through the necessary procedure of initialing and approval.

Although they promoted fair and transparent work, one year after the abolition of the "blacklist", nothing was done to introduce new anti-corruption measures. With their decision, they enabled the return of companies with a bad reputation to the market, which resulted in a loss of trust from international financial institutions.
The abolition of the "blacklist" drew numerous criticisms. International partners consider this move a step backward in the fight against corruption, and in every report on BiH, both those prepared by EU institutions and international financial institutions, it is precisely required of BiH to fight against corruption and misuse of public funds in public procurement processes.

And here they are fighting, but in a way that exclusively suits the HDZ! That is the whole story about the reports and the work of the judiciary. Everyone is a criminal except those in the HDZ!