The Appeals Commission of Republika Srpska has annulled the decision which determined that Željka Cvijanović’s recent advisor and former minister in the RS Government Slobodan Župljanin was not in a conflict of interest. The decision followed an appeal by Transparency International in BiH (TI BIH) against the resolution of the Commission for Determining Conflict of Interest, which absolved Župljanin of responsibility for violating the law, explaining that the procedure could not be carried out because he no longer holds the position of advisor.
TI BIH appealed this decision because Župljanin during the past year simultaneously held the position of advisor and president of the VRS Senior Officers’ Organization, which was financed from the budget, and the law clearly states that the procedure for applying sanctions can be initiated within two years of violating the law. This was confirmed by the Appeals Commission, which ordered the implementation of the procedure, which, among other things, should gather all necessary information about the financing of this organization from the budget during the past year.
TI BIH received numerous complaints from dissatisfied members of this association who claimed that the allocated funds were being spent non-transparently, which TI BIH tried to verify by requesting information from the Ministry of Labor and Veterans’ Affairs of RS about budget allocations for organizations of public interest, as well as those where misuse of funds was identified.
However, the Ministry persistently conceals data on payments to this and other associations, which it still refuses to provide, even though TI BiH won a court ruling that found this Ministry in violation of the Freedom of Information Act. The publication of this information is also important because the Main Public Sector Audit Service of RS has repeatedly warned that funds were distributed to numerous associations outside of procedures, and that many of them spent public money for purposes other than the implementation of activities for which the funds were approved.
Hiding information about the financing of these organizations, many of which have repeatedly held rallies in support of the current government, is particularly ironic considering that Slobodan Župljanin is publicly one of the biggest advocates for passing the Law on Transparency of Non-Profit Organizations, which, in TI BIH’s opinion, aims to stifle criticism and target organizations financed through international projects, from which the RS Government itself is also financed. The draft of this law will be considered at the next session of the National Assembly of RS and is proposed by the government that persistently conceals data on millions allocated for financing non-profit organizations.
At the same session, there will also be a proposal for amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest, which practically attempts to legalize this phenomenon in the financing of non-profit organizations. It will allow all persons in such cases to simultaneously remain in public office and at the head of associations financed from the budget “if they do not receive a salary for it”. TI BIH has already warned that these amendments were sent to the procedure after one of Milorad Dodik’s advisors found himself in a conflict of interest and that this law should prevent officials from distributing budget money to organizations with which they have political or other connections, so the occurrence of conflict of interest cannot be reduced to receiving a salary.
