Press releases

TI BiH and the Coalition of NGOs Supporting Action Planning in BiH

Announcements ● 17 May 2015

In September 24, 2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina officially joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) as its 65^th member, which aim is to encourage countries around the world to enhance transparency and better governance through undertaking concrete steps in legislation and practice. After joining the OGP initiative, Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with civil society is obliged to develop an action plan that identifies priorities and activities in the area of transparent and accountable governance, citizen participation in decision-making processes, and the use of new technologies and innovation to increase the openness of government.

The theme of the conference organized by TI BiH will be processes and principles of the development of the action plan, and it will be presented the experiences from the countries in the region that have already created and started implementation of the Action Plan. Civil society organizations will present the priorities that should be included in the Action Plan of BiH, while the leading institutions within the OGP initiative should present current and planned steps in the drafting and adoption of the Action Plan for the BiH.

The Conference will be held on Monday, 18^th May 2015, at the Hotel Europe in Sarajevo (Atrium Hall), with the beginning at 10.30 a.m. The agenda is attached below. The press conference is planned to be held at 10.00 a.m.

TI BiH and the Coalition of NGOs Supporting Action Planning in BiH

Initiative for constitutional review of FYROM submitted

Press releases ● 14 May 2015

The submitters of the initiative propose to the Constitutional Court of the RS to issue a decision initiating the procedure for assessing the constitutionality of the disputed provisions of Articles 7 and 8. and 22. Law on Public Order and Peace of the Republika Srpska and made a decision that the disputed articles are not in accordance with the Constitution of the Republika Srpska, given that they represent a direct violation of the right to freedom of thought and opinion, belief, public expression and peaceful assembly and association.

The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska is 5. In February 2015, it adopted the Law on Public Order and Peace, despite strong condemnation and opposition from the domestic public, the media and civil society. The largest international organizations, from the OSCE, the European Commission, Human Rights Watch to the embassies of the USA, Great Britain and others, condemned this law, assessing that the concept of public space is too broadly defined and allows its abuse.

The need to submit this initiative is further emphasized by the fact that in a short period of time two more draft legal solutions have been submitted for adoption, which seek to restrict freedom of assembly, expression and association, and which are also in line with constitutionally guaranteed rights. Banja Luka journalists expect that the Constitutional Court, protecting the highest legal act of the RS, will accept the initiative and in the further procedure will declare the Law unconstitutional due to a series of inconsistencies with the RS Constitution.

Initiative for assessing the constitutionality and legality of the RS Law on Public Order and Peace
Press rls – May 14, 2015

A blow to the work of non-governmental organizations

Press releases ● 11 May 2015

Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly condemns the move of the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska to adopt the Draft Law on Publicity of Non-Profit Organizations, which seeks to label and discriminate foreign-funded NGOs, without any announcement or public debate.

Namely, the disputed draft only deals with organizations whose activities and projects are financed by foreign governments and organizations and does not deal at all with organizations financed from local sources and budgets of various levels of government, which do not even have to submit reports and justify funds allocated from the budget. .

The draft law also vaguely defines political activities and political activities, thus leaving a dangerous possibility for the competent institutions to, with a broad and inadequate interpretation of the law, ban the work of organizations whose activities do not help the RS authorities.

TI BiH does not consider the need for transparency of NGO work disputable, but in this case, under the guise of transparency, it actually wants to control and limit the work of only those organizations that are not under the control of the RS authorities.

This law sends a dangerous message to citizens that NGOs are enemies of the state and is just one step in a series of years of attempts by RS authorities to restrict freedom of speech, assembly and association and stifle criticism in all ways, including totalitarian regimes. It is also absurd that the Declaration on the Compliance of this Draft Law with the EU Acquis states that the sources of EU law governing this matter have not been identified, although it is clear that the draft is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and assembly. organization, while this draft gives the Ministry of Justice the opportunity to determine which organization can operate freely and which cannot.

TI BiH, in cooperation with other civil society organizations, will use all available mechanisms to prevent the adoption of such a law or at least enable a public debate in order to eliminate its shortcomings.

Press rls – 11 May 2015 doc

Presentation of the initiative for amendments to the Law on Public Procurement

Press releases ● 10 May 2015

Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Center for Investigative Reporting are organizing the Conference on Improving the Law on Public Procurement . The aim of the Conference is to present an analysis and initiative to improve the Law on Public Procurement, with a focus on increasing transparency and preventing corruption in this area.

The conference is expected to be attended by representatives of the executive and legislative branches at the state level, institutions supervising the implementation of the Law on Public Procurement – Public Procurement Agency and the Complaints Review Office, civil society organizations active in advocating for improving the legal framework in this area. .

The conference will be held in Tuesday, May 12 2015 at the Hotel Europe in Sarajevo, starting at 11.00. Press statements are scheduled before the start of the Conference at 10.45. The agenda is below.

The conference is part of the BiH Civil Society Sustainability Program (CSSP), which is financially supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Embassy in BiH, in which TI BiH and CIN focus on strengthening the legal framework public procurement, conflicts of interest and property records.

You can download the agenda here Agenda 12.05.2015. Hotel Europa, Sarajevo .

TI BiH asked the Chief Republic Prosecutor to order action in the case of Bobar Bank

Press releases ● 21 April 2015

Transparency International BiH sent an open letter to the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic, Mahmut Švraca, urging him to order the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office to act in the Bobar Bank case or for the Republic Prosecutor’s Office to take over the case. The Collegium of the Special Prosecutor’s Office recently concluded that it is not within its competence to act on criminal charges which, among other things, refer to the disappearance of almost ten million marks from the bank’s vault, where public funds were deposited. Before that, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina handed over the case to the Special Prosecutor’s Office, believing that it was an organized crime, ie. on a matter that is not within their jurisdiction, which returned the case to the Bijeljina Prosecutor’s Office.

In a letter to the Republic Prosecutor Mahmut Švraci, TI BiH emphasizes that it is necessary to urgently undertake investigative actions, because it is his legal obligation to resolve a possible conflict of jurisdiction between the district prosecutor’s offices and order an investigation. Otherwise, public confidence in the political control of prosecutors will be strengthened, while over time it will become increasingly difficult to investigate the scale of the crime committed. It was especially emphasized that the explanation of the Collegium and the Chief Special Prosecutor about the incompetence of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is unconvincing, and that it is based on worrying arguments that are against the law and according to which prosecution of crimes affecting the economy and financial sector. it is not of special importance for the Republika Srpska. The decision to ignore all the circumstances of the scandal that has been shaking the public for months, explaining that the case is not within their competence, casts doubt on the legal work of this prosecutor’s office, the chief special prosecutor and all acting prosecutors, their competence and independence. TI BiH also pointed out the possibility of violating the Code of Judicial and Prosecutorial Ethics, if the Chief Special Prosecutor subordinated his call to personal interpretations of the competence of the institution he manages from motives that significantly resemble organized crime and avoiding work due to political instructions or other similar reasons.

TI BiH warned the Chief Republic Prosecutor that currently none of the investigative bodies, despite all criminal charges, including reports from the RS Banking Agency, is investigating the crime that led to the closure of Bobar Bank, causing incalculable damage to public funds, but also economic entities and numerous citizens.

Considering that in democratic societies the public has the right to inspect the work of prosecutor’s offices, especially the disputed decisions on which the initiation of investigations depends, TI BiH demands from the Chief Republic Prosecutor, who has significant and broad powers under the law, to resolve the issue of investigating the Bobar Bank case. by handing it over to the Republican prosecutors, or by ordering the special prosecutors to finally conduct an investigation.

Press rls – April 21, 2015

Open letter from TI BiH to the Chief Republic Prosecutor

The RS Special Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that an expert examination of the video on the alleged purchase of MPs was not done

Press releases ● 16 April 2015

Banja Luka, April 16, 2015 – The RS Special Prosecutor’s Office informed Transparency International BiH that they did not conduct an expert examination of a recording of a conversation in which the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska allegedly buys MPs in order to form a ruling majority. At the same time, an argument was given according to which the expertise cannot be determined because the original recording was returned to the Klix.ba portal by the decision of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo. As a reminder, the RS Ministry of Interior in a press release 18. In November, a number of electronic media published a edited, compromising recording of a private conversation between the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska, recorded with special technical, sophisticated means for audio and video recording, in which individual statements of the Prime Minister were taken out of context. and in that way a derived, seemingly real conversation was created between the Prime Minister and an unidentified person – the interlocutor. ”

TI BiH raises the question of how the RS Ministry of the Interior could have qualified the disputed recording as edited in November last year if the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the expertise of the recording was not done at all. Since the affair about the alleged purchase of deputies was opened, the investigative bodies not only did not determine the authenticity of the recording, but according to the information sent to TI BiH, they did not undertake other investigative actions that could clarify the disputed situation. Thus, the response of the Banja Luka District Prosecutor’s Office states that the same case was only forwarded to the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office upon Dragan Cavic’s report, which again explains in its response that the investigation was reduced to establishing the authenticity of the recording.

TI BiH believes that the Special Prosecutor’s Office cannot stop the investigation on the grounds of not having the original recording, indirectly accusing journalists who defended media freedom and the right to secrecy of sources, and that it is necessary to conduct other investigative actions to finally determine whether a crime was committed. deed and who are all responsible persons. It is important to note that this is an affair on which the legitimacy of the current government in Republika Srpska directly depends, because the cabinet of Prime Minister Cvijanović is facing extremely serious accusations that the current government was formed by giving bribes. It is in the interest of the public of Republika Srpska, but also of all its institutions, to continue the investigation of the Special Prosecutor’s Office in full, as well as to make all findings of the investigation accessible and public because it is a sensitive case that attracts special attention. assessment of the legitimate establishment of a ruling majority.

Press rls 16.04.2015.
Answer Banja Luka District Prosecutor’s Office
Answer RS Special Prosecutor’s Office

The ruling majority in RS is covering up the Bobar Bank affair

Press releases ● 15 April 2015

Dobrila Drinić, Radmila Stojnić, Srđan Amidžić and Željka Stojičić, members of the Finance and Budget Committee of the RS National Assembly, voted yesterday against the proposal of Transparency International BiH that Slavica Injac, director of the RS Banking Agency, be invited to a public hearing before the parliamentary committee on the affair Beaver bank. The proposal was rejected with four votes against, five votes in favor, but two members of the Committee did not attend the session, so the required majority of six members was not reached.

At the same time, the Special Prosecutor’s Office of RS informed TI BiH that there are no grounds for suspicion that there is organized crime in the case of Bobar Bank, as well as that criminal acts that were possibly committed by unknown persons misappropriated 9,968,349.90 KM from the bank’s vault. committed a number of other criminal offenses, do not fall under their jurisdiction because “it could not be classified as the most serious forms of criminal offenses against the economy and payments and against official duty, where prosecution is of special importance for the Republika Srpska.” In this way, the Chief Special Prosecutor Miodrag Bajić demonstrated the worrying avoidance of responsibility, making meaningless the very purpose of the existence of the institution he heads.

With the inaction of the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office and the refusal of the ruling coalition MPs to investigate the work of Slavica Injac and the RS Banking Agency, the Republika Srpska institutions put an end to the Bobar Bank affair. The refusal of the appointed members of the RS Finance and Budget Committee to question Slavica Injac found that there was no political will of the current ruling majority in Republika Srpska to deal with organized crime, while the RS Special Prosecutor’s Office responded that the lack of political will was felt institution. In this way, despite the criminal reports of the Banking Agency on the disappearance of money from the bank’s vault, as well as numerous criminal reports of Bobar Bank employees and other citizens, none of the institutions is currently dealing with this case, which confirms suspicions that it is systemic and institutional. covering up organized crime.

TI BiH calls on the Finance and Budget Committee to reconsider, in its full composition, the initiative for a public hearing of the Director of the RS Banking Agency and to enable, at least in this way, through the control role of the legislature, to determine responsibility for bank failures and abuses. caused great losses for public institutions whose funds were entrusted to Bobar Bank.

Press rls – 15 4 2015 doc

Notice of change of address of the Office in Sarajevo

Press releases ● 13 April 2015

The Transparency International Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is from 09.04.2015. located at the new address:
Sarajevo office:

Mehmed – bega Kapetanovića Ljubušaka 4,
71000 Sarajevo

All previous contact details, except the address, remain unchanged.

The RS Special Prosecutor’s Office refused to act on criminal charges in the Bobar Bank case

Press releases ● 03 April 2015

Banja Luka, 03. April 2015 – Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) received a letter from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina concluding that no one has been charged with criminal charges filed by the RS Banking Agency against unknown persons for abuse of office and authority in Bobar Bank proceeds even though the applications were forwarded in December 2014. .

Namely, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina informed TI BiH that they forwarded all the documentation to the RS MUP – Criminal Police Directorate – Unit for Suppression of Economic Crime, Financial Investigation and Money Laundering, but that they have not acted on it yet. We were also informed in the same letter that there are indications that this is an organized crime, and that is why the case was forwarded to the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Republika Srpska, which by an act of March 13, 2015. “The decision of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which is responsible for organized crime and corruption, is absolutely unclear, given that the Agency’s report referred to a large number of disputed loans signed by one person and used by another, and the disappearance of almost 10 million KM from the vault of Bobar Bank. Such crimes can in no way be viewed as the work of a lonely individual, but are very obviously classified as organized crime.

This only confirmed the claims of TI BiH that in the case of Bobar Bank there is organized evasion of responsibility of competent institutions which now refuse to act on criminal charges, although the District Prosecutor’s Office in Bijeljina confirmed that there are indications of organized crime. banks. The submitted letter from the Bijeljina Prosecutor’s Office shows the repeated practice of institutions to transfer responsibility and competencies to each other, which ultimately resulted in inaction.

Transparency International BiH believes that the latest information that none of the competent investigative bodies is currently determining responsibility in the Bobar Bank case further obliges MPs and members of the Finance and Budget Committee of the RS National Assembly to question Slavica Injac, director of the RS Banking Agency. It will turn out that despite all the indications of organized crime, responsible for the collapse of Bobar Bank, no one has even tried to establish responsibility in this case.
Press rls – 3 4 2015 doc
Answer Bijeljina District Prosecutor’s Office

TI BiH invites NARS Finance and Budget Committee to publicly hear Slavica Injac over Bobar Bank affair

Press releases ● 02 April 2015

Transparency International BiH (TI BiH) sent a request to the members of the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska to propose a public hearing of the director of the RS Banking Agency, Slavica Injac, before this committee to determine responsibility in the Bobar Bank affair. As the Banking Agency, as the supervisory body of the financial system, is directly responsible for its work to the National Assembly, TI BiH emphasized that members of the Finance and Budget Committee should use the legally prescribed opportunity to invite Injac to a public hearing. interest and to understand the control, but also the democratic role of the legislature.

TI BiH reminds that Injac openly told the citizens, among other things, that they should control the work of banks, as well as that the Agency headed by her refused to provide the Final Report of the interim manager of Bobar Bank, and that citizens do not have any information about closures. Beaver Bank and the actions of the Agency in this case.

Public hearings and the formation of inquiry committees are a very common practice in democratic societies in situations where it is necessary to resolve a political affair of particular importance. The obvious damage caused by the closure of Bobar Bank and the suspicions created in the work of supervisory bodies, but also in the purposefulness of their existence, require the use of all available political means in order to determine responsibility. From the moment when the interim administration procedure was opened against Bobar banka ad Bijeljina, Injac’s irresponsible actions, unbalanced statements and persistent hiding of data from the public increased doubts about the legality of the RS Banking Agency, its personal competence, but also about concealing illegalities.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of the RS, it is necessary for one of the members to submit a proposal for a public hearing, and then to be supported by the majority of Committee members in order to hold a public hearing before the Committee. TI BiH proposes to provide a live broadcast of the public hearing of Slavica Injac, but also to enable the presence of as many representatives of civil society as possible at the hearing, so that the public finally gets an insight into the actions of the Agency.

If the Committee on Finance and Budget ignores the call of TI BiH, the absolute disinterest of legislators to supervise the work of public institutions and ensure the responsibility of their leaders towards citizens will be shown again.

Press rls – 2 4 2015 doc

TI BiH is Organizing Conference on Financing of Election Campaign

Announcements ● 29 March 2015

Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) is organizing regional conference on Financing of Political Parties- Law and Practice. The conference is dedicated to transparency of financing of political parties and election campaigns and to comparison of experiences in this are from the region and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the conference, it will be presented the reports on 2014 General Election Campaign in BiH, and the results of the monitoring of the election campaign will be compared with the financial statement which political parties submitted to Central Election Commission. It will be discussed about recommendations for improvement of the legal framework with the aim of ensuring greater transparency of election campaigns and to prevent the abuse of public resources for campaigning.

Representatives of legislative and executive branches in BiH, political parties, Central Election Commission of BiH, civil society and the media from BiH, as well as representatives of Anti-Corruption Agency Serbia and organizations from the region that deal with monitoring of campaign financing are expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will be held on 30^th March 2015, with the beginning at 10.00 a.m. at the Hotel Europa in Sarajevo.

Request the extradition of Mile Radisic

Press releases ● 26 March 2015

Banja Luka, 26. March 2015 – Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina calls on the competent institutions to request the extradition of Mile Radisic from Serbia on the basis of the Extradition Treaty between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia. March.

Namely, the Agreement on Extradition between BiH and Serbia, which was ratified in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH last year, clearly states that BiH has the right to request the extradition of its citizens in order to serve a final prison sentence of at least four months. On the other hand, even taking into account the possible citizenship of Serbia that Radisic has, according to this Agreement, Serbia can extradite its citizens if they are sentenced to imprisonment for more than two .

Bearing in mind that Mile Radisic made it clear in his statements to the media that he was in Serbia, and that BiH and Serbia have an agreement on extradition, TI BiH sees no obstacles before the competent institutions to request extradition.

Otherwise, the institutions of the Republika Srpska will show that final verdicts do not mean the obligation to serve a sentence, and that individuals are free to avoid imprisonment, while setting ultimatums to the judiciary. Bearing in mind that the institutions have already proved incapable of keeping a person scheduled to serve a prison sentence in the country, unless extradition proceedings are initiated soon, and it will be publicly proven that power and ties to the government mean amnesty from any sanctions for criminal offenses, and that the top of the government protects legally convicted persons.

Press rls – 26 3 2015 doc

The Banking Agency refuses to submit the Final Report of the interim manager of Bobar Bank

Press releases ● 23 March 2015

Banja Luka, 23. March 2015 — At the request of Transparency International BiH, the Banking Agency of Republika Srpska refused to submit the Final Report on the course of the interim administration procedure against Bobar banka ad Bijeljina and its termination, with an explanation of the implemented measures of the interim administration procedure. Agency immediately after the end of the interim administration.

Since the end of the interim administration procedure, TI BiH has been insisting on the disclosure of the Final Report, and the Agency is the first 19. January 2015 informed TI BiH that the disputed Report was not finished, and the procedure of temporary administration over Bobar banka ad Bijeljina was completed on 23. December 2014 . After TI BiH continued to insist on submitting the Final Report, because only in that way can the public be informed about the measures taken, the RS Banking Agency refused to provide the Final Report, emphasizing that it is a business secret. TI BiH intends to initiate an administrative dispute regarding the Agency’s decision, bearing in mind that the Law on Freedom of Access to Information, ie the public interest in this case, was not taken into account, given the consequences caused by the sudden closure of a bank.

Also, the fact that it was first announced that the Report was not ready, and only then the Agency refused to provide it, raises suspicions that the interim administrator either never drafted a document with which he had to explain his work in detail, or this is just a way to cover up authorities, but also illegalities that have been suspected since the beginning of the Bobar Bank affair.

The Government of the Republika Srpska proposed amendments to the Law on Banks in 2013. years precisely for the purpose of more precise determination of the competencies of temporary and liquidation managers, but also for the purpose of greater supervisory powers of the RS Banking Agency. Thus, among other things, it is planned to compile the Final Report on the Interim Administration Procedure, from which it would be clear which measures have been taken and what their effect is. The RS Banking Agency voluntarily and without taking into account the Law on Freedom of Access to Information, which treats the publication of information of public importance as a rule, decided to declare the Report a business secret, thus denying the public information about all activities undertaken in the Bobar Bank case.

TI BiH believes that there is no valid reason to ban access to the Final Report of the interim administrator in the Bobar Bank case, and that its publication can only contribute to shedding light on the whole affair, while hiding information raises additional doubts about the legal work of the Banking Agency and interim administrator.

Press rls – March 23, 2015

The ITA employs persons convicted and under investigation for criminal offenses

Press releases ● 18 March 2015

The Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, through a competition announced in October 2014. employed two people, one of whom has already been convicted of tax evasion, and proceedings for organized crime are being conducted against her, while the other person, according to media reports, is one of the suspects in the Kemal Causevic case and others.

The condition in the Law on Work in the Institutions of BiH that no criminal proceedings have been initiated against the candidate for a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment for three years or more or that no prison sentence has been imposed for a criminal offense with intent, in accordance with the BiH Criminal Code. When asked by TI BiH to the ITA regarding the employment of these persons, the ITA replied that the candidates submitted certificates that no criminal proceedings were being conducted against them, and that the disputed person was sentenced to probation, and that only imprisonment was a hindrance. for employment.

However, the first disputable fact is that the ITA in the competition asked the candidate to submit only a certificate of no criminal proceedings, and this certificate can not prove whether someone was sentenced for a crime, and should have required a certificate of impunity / conviction. issued by the competent police administration / station.

Secondly, according to the data received by TI BiH from the Court of BiH, a new criminal procedure is being conducted against the same person who was previously convicted, but at the level of BiH, for organized crime, and he attached a certificate from the Banja Luka District Court. it follows that no proceedings are being conducted before that court, ie. under the jurisdiction of that court and the RS Criminal Code, not the BiH law.

TI BiH also requested information from the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH on the investigation of this candidate in the case of another candidate, in connection with the case of Kemal Causevic et al. in which case this person could not be employed in BiH institutions, but has not yet received an answer.

This whole case, which was reported to TI BiH by an anonymous person, points to the lack of regulations and incoherence of the system in terms of data on the conduct of criminal proceedings and verdicts. More importantly, this example sends a worrying message to citizens that those under investigation and convicted have priority in employment, while other candidates, who also met the conditions and are not linked to crime, are denied employment.
Press rls – 18 3 2015 doc i

Without proactive transparency and a planned approach to employment in public administration

Press releases ● 13 March 2015

Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH), in cooperation with the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN), presented at a conference in Sarajevo the findings of monitoring public administration reform in the field of human resource management and transparency, integrity and accountability.

The monitoring findings testify to the very modest results of public administration in the area of transparency, integrity and accountability. Information of public importance is accessed reactively, through requests for access, and the concept of proactive transparency is poorly known to institutions, which invest very little effort in better visibility and visibility of information.

Institutions do not have the practice of extracting and publishing budget data and budget execution data on their websites. Of the 20 institutions, only two (one from BiH and one at FBiH level) have adopted an integrity plan. In Republika Srpska, the very notion of an “integrity plan” is known in only one institution, which shows that there is still little to worry about in preventing corruption. On top of all that, a small number of initiated disciplinary proceedings have been recorded at all levels, which shows that repressive mechanisms do not function adequately either.

In human resource management, non-transparent recruitment processes remain a problem. The system of planning the needs for human resources is poorly developed – planning is on a quantitative basis, while the profile of the people needed is very little taken into account. Progress is visible in the field of analysis and classification of jobs, but the existing descriptions in their content and structure do not meet the needs of modern administration. The practice of monitoring and evaluating the work of employees has never been properly understood and then accepted by managers in administrative structures, which most clearly indicates the lack of managerial and leadership skills of those in management positions.

Lejla Ibranović, Acting Executive Director of Transparency International BiH, pointed out in her introductory address at the conference that the aim of the monitoring was to point out the concrete impact of activities and invested resources in reform processes, and that the findings show that reforms have not achieved adequate results, taking into account the resources invested in the past few years. “These findings of the report unequivocally indicate the need for a more serious and systematic approach to public administration reform, especially in the context of the obligations and requirements that the EU places before BiH in the process of enlargement and European integration,” Ibranovic said.

Mario Vignjevic, Program Manager for Public Administration Reform of the Swedish International Development Agency, which financially supported the project, pointed out that the key challenge remains resolving the coordination of reform processes and the will of actors involved in public administration reform. “Significant investments made in previous years by the Swedish government for public administration reform clearly indicate the commitment of the Swedish government to give all support to domestic authorities and institutions to make public administration more transparent, professional, efficient and beneficial to all citizens.” The monitoring findings presented today indicate the need for domestic authorities and institutions to take public administration reform very seriously. ”
Press rls br 2 – 13 3 2015 doc

The RS Ministry of Trade and Tourism is hiding information about Boska’s privatization

Press releases ● 13 March 2015

Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) considers scandalous the behavior of the Ministry of Trade and Tourism of the Republika Srpska, which is trying in every way to hide from the public the agreement on the privatization of the Boska Department Store.

TI BiH is 28. January 2015 he also received a lawsuit against the RS Ministry of Trade and Tourism precisely for failing to submit an agreement on the privatization of Boska and calling for the protection of confidential information without conducting a public interest test. The District Court in Banja Luka then ordered the Ministry to act on the appeal of TI BiH within 30 days, but the Ministry has not yet responded.

The explanation that the contract allegedly disappeared is a clear attempt by the Ministry to avoid acting on a court order and to hide information about the privatization of Boska from the public eye.

TI BiH reminds that proceedings for organized crime and corruption are being conducted against the main actors in the privatization of Boska in Serbia, which is why the public interest in publishing contracts is even greater, and calls on the RS Ministry of Trade and Tourism to act according to the law.

Press rls – 13 Mar 2015