TI BiH: Due to party employment, an increasing number of reports of corruption in education and public administration

Banja Luka, 7. March 2022 – Citizens most often pointed out irregularities in employment procedures and inaction of inspection bodies, while TI BiH filed the most complaints due to corruption in the field of public procurement and the occurrence of conflicts of interest.

There was a significant increase in the number of applications in the field of education, especially parents who suspected the party’s employment of teachers. We single out the example of the competition for the admission of 13 educators in the Public Institution Center for Preschool Education Banja Luka, where after the change of the city government and director for the first time since 2015. year, a competition was announced in 2015. year and over a hundred candidates applied. However, the 13 most successful ones were not employed because in the meantime, the former director was returned to her position and she immediately annulled the completed competition. TI BiH reacted and reported the case to the Education Inspectorate, which annulled its decision. Due to the increasing occurrence of party employment in educational institutions, TI BiH, with the support of the Human Rights Ombudsman, led the campaign “Politicians get out of class” and the RS Government submitted an initiative to change regulations that would exclude politics from the election.

In addition to education, the number of reports of corruption in health care has increased, and last year there was a reaction from the competent institutions in two major cases initiated by TI BiH. Due to illegal procurements of medical equipment by the RS Institute of Public Health, the director of this institution was investigated and arrested, as well as other actors against whom TIBiH filed criminal charges. Also, after the TIBiH report, the inspection determined that the company that does not have a permit supplies the Trebinje Hospital with oxygen that was used for medical purposes, which endangered the health of the population. The “oxygen affair” and public pressure led to a ban on further circulation of oxygen from suppliers who did not have the necessary certificates and permits.

As in previous years, the largest number of applications was related to the public administration sector, mainly to irregularities in the employment processes of civil servants, and 12% of applicants were classified as “whistleblowers”, which is an increase of 4.5% compared to 2020. year. This is particularly important because the FBiH has not yet adopted a law on the protection of “whistleblowers”, and where it exists, corruption perpetrators continue to be prosecuted. We also emphasize the case of Emir Mesic, who is facing retaliation because he reported corruption to the ITA BIH and the authorities refuse to provide him with protection. TI BiH was granted the status of intervener before the Court of BiH in a lawsuit in which Mr. Mešić sued his employer for discrimination.

This year, 19 reports of potential conflicts of interest were received, after which 14 reports were sent for further verification to the competent authorities. We emphasize that the Central Election Commission of BiH, after the reaction of the TI BiH, revoked the mandate of the councilor from Velika Kladuša, Aladdin Ćerimović, who was also an advisor to the Prime Minister of the KJA and had a conflict of interest on four grounds.

Due to the refusal of public authorities to provide information of public importance, last year TI BiH initiated 17 administrative disputes.

A significant number of citizens’ reports were recorded due to the actions of the police, and after a long dispute, the Supreme Court of Republika Srpska made a final decision and rejected the lawsuit of TI BIH against the decision of the RS Ministry of Interior, which refuses to submit reports David. Due to this, an appeal was initiated before the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Transparency since 2003. provides legal assistance to citizens who are fighting corruption, and to date, over 20,000 citizens have approached TI BIH, mainly through the recognizable number 0800 55-555.

Press rls_07.03.2022_

Report:

https://ti-bih.org/godisnji-izvjestaj-centra-za-pruzanje-pravne-pomoci-ti-bih-za-2021-godinu/