Transparency International in BiH filed a complaint with the Commission for Deciding on Conflicts of Interest RS against the Vice President of the City Assembly of Doboj, Miloš Bukejlović, who during this and the previous term held multiple incompatible positions. Specifically, from August 2019 to June 2021, Bukejlović was a member of the Supervisory Board of the company “GRADSKA TOPLANA” A.D. DOBOJ, while simultaneously serving two terms as a councilor in the local assembly, a situation clearly prohibited by the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest RS.
This law explicitly prohibits elected representatives at the local level from being members of supervisory boards or directors of public enterprises established by the local self-government unit, and this concerns a company owned by the City of Doboj.
In addition, as the secretary of the SNSD city board in Doboj, Bukejlović, according to the Law on Public Enterprises, could not be a member of the management of any public enterprise, because he holds an executive position in the party, which is explicitly prohibited by Article 11 of this law.
However, he is currently the director of the Dependent Company of Elektroprivreda RS “Elektro Doboj” and also a member of the supervisory board of the Railways of the Republic of Srpska. Unfortunately, the only legal option available in this case is to address the Supervisory Board of the company responsible for enforcing the law.
Therefore, TI BiH sent a letter to the Supervisory Board of the Railways RS, of which Bukejlović is the president, informing them that he cannot legally hold that position, and the same information was sent to the supervisory board of ZP Elektro Doboj, where Bukejlović is the director. TI BiH also requested a response from the Ombudsman for Human Rights, who in such situations, where there is an obvious violation of the law, can issue a recommendation.
However, due to the shortcomings of the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest RS, officials at lower levels of government are allowed to hold positions in public enterprises founded by the Republic of Srpska. TI BiH has long advocated for the improvement of conflict of interest legislation at all levels, and currently, such a situation is only allowed in the Republic of Srpska.
It is also important to note that Miloš Bukejlović holds a sixth position addressed by conflict of interest legislation, but the situation he is in is currently allowed at the level of the Republic of Srpska, which has the poorest law in this segment.
Bukejlović is currently the president of the Karate Club Sloga from Doboj, which is funded from the budget, and according to the data available to TI BiH, in 2022, they received funds from the City of Doboj in the amount of 10,000 KM and from the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports RS in the amount of 4,500 KM. However, the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest in RS prohibits elected officials from being at the head of associations and foundations (which includes sports clubs) only if they are funded from the budget in an amount exceeding 100,000 KM annually.
This threshold is set quite high, allowing numerous officials in RS to be on both sides, that is, to adopt the budget and determine the amount of funds while simultaneously using those funds. For comparison, in the Brčko District, it is prohibited for all officials to be at the head of associations funded with more than 10,000 KM from any level of government, while at the BiH level, this amount for sports associations is limited to 50,000 KM.
Nevertheless, the fact that one person holds multiple incompatible positions under two laws and simultaneously influences the allocation and expenditure of public funds clearly indicates that the competent institutions must react, and it is necessary to harmonize conflict of interest laws at all levels in accordance with European standards.
