TI BIH sued the Municipality of Neum for concealing information about parking fee collection conducted by a company linked to HDZ.

The municipal authorities in Neum have been concealing information about parking fee collection and revenue distribution between the municipality and the concessionaire “Bakus” Ltd, a company managed by Nikola Konjevod and his brother Cvitan, who is according to earlier media reports a member of the HDZ BiH Municipal Committee. Transparency International in BiH requested this information as early as March last year, and due to the persistent refusal of the municipal authorities to provide it, a lawsuit was filed before the Cantonal Court in Mostar.

This information is important because the mentioned company has once again received the concession for the lucrative parking fee collection business in the only BiH resort on the Adriatic coast. This business has been conducted since 2008, and one of the conditions for obtaining a new concession was that the concessionaire had no outstanding obligations.

The Audit Office had previously determined that Bakus did not regularly fulfill its obligations and owed 81,000 KM for just one year, despite retaining up to 80% of the revenue from collected fines. Given that the Municipality is concealing this information, it is unknown whether the concessionaire has any outstanding obligations, and based on the response provided by Bakus in this proceeding, it is evident that multiple legal disputes are ongoing.

The Municipality labeled the concealment of this information as confidential commercial data, and thus sought the concessionaire’s consent.

However, the company Bakus Ltd did not give consent to provide this information to TI BiH ”especially since multiple legal proceedings are ongoing regarding the requested data at the competent Municipal Court in Čapljina, Cantonal Court in Mostar, and Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office in Mostar”.

Additionally, it should be emphasized that the actual areas of public spaces leased to this private entity and the amount of revenue collected have been concealed from the public for years. The Municipality of Neum refused to answer TI BiH’s questions about the fee for obtaining concession rights, the calculation of concession fees, total obligations, and the method of revenue distribution. Furthermore, the Municipality refused to provide a review of fee payments by year, which TI BiH publishes in the Concession Register for all concessionaires and all levels of government in BiH.

Lucrative business

It should be noted that Bakus reported revenue of 487,000 KM and a total profit of over 237,000 KM in 2023. Revenue and earnings increase year by year. Federal auditors believe that the Municipality has its own Public Utility Company that can perform this activity and that it is not justified to forgo public revenue.

Additionally, auditors suspected the accuracy of reported parking fee revenues four years ago, which is why it is important for local authorities to provide the public with the information requested by TI BiH.

– We found that the Municipality monitored revenue collection from public parking through payments made to the deposit account, without accompanying records from the company “Bakus” Ltd. Neum. Of the total collected fines, the company “Bakus” Ltd Neum received 80% (38,211 KM), and the Municipality 5,052 KM, according to the distribution determined by the Municipal Council’s Decision from the 5th year. 3. 2015. year, as stated in the audit report.

Multiple cases at the Prosecutor’s Office

In addition, the HNK Prosecutor’s Office confirms that this is not the only case related to the concessionaire.

”The HNK Prosecutor’s Office has formed multiple cases related to the company Bakus, while in the case formed regarding allegations of irregularities in the granting of concession rights for parking fee collection, the prosecutor assigned to the case conducted an analysis of the file, and upon the prosecutor’s request, certain documentation was obtained from the Mayor of the Municipality of Neum, and then certain data and documentation were requested from the Ministry of Construction and Spatial Planning of HNK, all with the aim of establishing the correct factual situation in this case. Work on this case continues,” as stated in the response from the HNK Prosecutor’s Office.

Illegal concession granting

Auditors requested in 2019 that the further engagement of this concessionaire be reconsidered and that parking fee collection be transferred to the jurisdiction of JP “Komunalno Neum,” which is founded by the Municipality.

It was also emphasized that the Municipal Council granted the concession contrary to the Law on Concessions of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, as it did not previously obtain the opinion of the relevant ministry.

The Municipality of Neum has claimed for years that they received the opinion and consent from the Ministry of Construction and Spatial Planning of HNK that parking is under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Neum.

However, in the response from the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Construction of HNK, it is stated that the Municipality submitted a request to assume the role of concessionaire in 2021, but this ministry proposed to the Government to reject that request. It is further stated that the Municipality did not approach this ministry in 2023 or 2024 on this matter. Additionally, this concessionaire illegally charged fines for parking in unauthorized places, which was recently confirmed by the Cantonal Court HNK ruling.

It should be reminded that this entire lucrative business has been accompanied by numerous other controversies over the years that have remained unexplained by local authorities. Due to all this, TI BiH will insist through legal means on the publication of complete documentation, as it is extremely important from the standpoint of protecting public interest for the public to have insight into the profitability and justification of assigning this business to a private company.

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