BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina revealed that the Crisis Committee in the town of Srebrenik recently made a decision to refurbish an isolation facility and triage centre for treating citizens infected with the coronavirus within the Adult Education Centre in Srebrenik.
The refurbishment job was entrusted to Fenix AS Company, which is co-owned by Srebrenik town councillor Fadil Smajic.
During his interview with a BIRN journalist, Fadil Smajic said he was not the owner of the company.
“I am not the owner, but my son is. Does being a councillor mean I should not work and live?” Smajic asked.
Djenan Salcin, director of the Public Procurement Agency, said the case was initiated after BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina published the article, adding that in his opinion, there is a suspected conflict of interest.
Salcin explained that elected officials who have a significant share in companies may not participate in public procurement procedures.
From the onset of the coronavirus crisis, BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina has paid special attention to monitoring public procurement implementation in order to identify and report on possible abuses and malpractices as soon as possible.