News in English     | 19.05.2020. 19:35 |

Novalić: I expect a thorough and quick investigation

FENA Hana Imamović

SARAJEVO, May 19 (FENA) - On March 20, the Government of the Federation of BiH gave its consent to the FBiH Civil Protection Crisis Staff to procure all the necessary equipment for the fight against the pandemic. This decision does not apply only to ventilators, but to all protective and other medical equipment. The needs of the FBiH for medical equipment were expressed by the Institute of Public Health, based on its assessments and requests from the field. There is a document about that, Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH Fadil Novalić said in an interview with FENA, answering the question about his role in the procurement of ventilators and the attempt of part of the media and opposition to direct the affair towards him and the FBiH Government.

- The Government did not decide what will be procured, in what quantities it will be procured, or at what price it will be procured, or what is the specification of the goods that will be procured. Nor is it the obligation of the Government. This was the role of the Institute of Public Health as a profession, and the FBiH Civil Protection Crisis Staff. In the midst of the pandemic, the Government and my Office received numerous offers for the purchase of ventilators, as well as other medical equipment. None of these offers were considered or decided by either the Government or my Office, but were immediately forwarded to the Institute of Public Health for consideration and evaluation. There are written traces of that. I understand the need of the opposition to try to get points on this case, but if they are targeting the Government and me - they have missed. I care more than they do that judicial institutions conduct a thorough investigation, establish all the facts and make a final judgment. And I urge them to do that as soon as possible. If anyone has acted against the law, let them be held accountable. What I can guarantee is that neither the Government nor I, as Prime Minister, have done anything outside the law.

* However, you were present when the plane with ventilators arrived at the airport and then you gave a statement that they were quality ventilators. The quality of the ventilators was later challenged by an expert order of the Prosecution of BiH. Why did you claim then that they were quality ventilators?

- I will remind you that at that time there was a general fear, almost panic about a possible "Italian scenario". At that time, practically all countries of the world tried in all possible ways to procure ventilators. It was very important for us in FBiH to receive such a shipment, which guaranteed us safety even in case that the pandemic escalates and that we have hundreds or thousands of seriously ill patients in hospitals. And I gave the statement you mention because the only offer of the company FH Srebrna malina, which I saw in my office, referred to ventilators of such quality. That offer, as well as the offers of all other companies, was forwarded from my Office to the Institute of Public Health, which was supposed to review all offers and specifications and decide which ventilators meet the needs of our medical system. Considering that the FBiH Civil Administration Crisis Staff subsequently signed a contract with that company, I was convinced that it was this type of ventilator. Whether there were other offers from the same company later, changes in contracts and specifications, I don't know. That should be determined. I guess it's clear that I wouldn't be at the airport, or say what I said, if I had any doubts about anything.

*What will the Government do if it is determined that the purchased ventilators are of inadequate quality?

- On my initiative, the Government has already made a decision instructing the FBiH Attorney's Office to review the disputed contract between the FBiH Civil Protection Administration and the company FH Srebrena malina, and within that to reconsider the possibility of annulling the contract. I expect that all institutions do their job and that the interests of FBiH and its citizens are protected.

*According to what the media publish, it is not only the purchase of ventilators that is disputable, but also other equipment?

- For me, as well as for the entire Government of FBiH, there are no dilemmas to check every procurement and to determine responsibility for every possible illegality. I will remind you that after the first media articles about ventilators, I immediately publicly called on the judicial authorities to establish the facts. The same call applies to all other procurements. The Government requested procurement reports from all institutions. All these reports that reached the FBiH Government, as well as those from the FBiH Civil Protection Administration, were submitted to the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, which is conducting the investigation. Information with procurement documentation was forwarded to both Houses of the FBiH Parliament, and public procurement materials were published on the FBiH Government website. This clearly shows that we are not hiding anything, but on the contrary, that we want complete transparency for every KM spent.

*During the investigation, some of your associates had their phones confiscated, and your Head of Office met with lawyer Kolić, which caused certain dilemmas. Did you know about that encounter?

- I did not. I found out about that from the media. He has already given a statement to the media and investigators about the reasons for meeting with lawyer Kolić. As for the other activities the investigators have taken, I repeat: let them do their job thoroughly and let them finish it as soon as possible. It is in the interest of everyone, and people who are mentioned in any way in the media with the whole case, but also in the interest of the entire public.

*Will this affair overshadow the undoubtedly good response of the Federation of BiH to the pandemic?

- It will, but the fact that we did a very good job in the health care segment remains. The fact that the opposition criticizes every move that the Government makes is expected. It is their job to criticize, ours to work. And how we have worked is the best proof that the WHO has singled us out as a good example of crisis management on several occasions. According to the epidemiological picture, BiH is on the third place in the region, behind Albania and Bulgaria, and when you compare the Federation and RS, then you can see why we are not on the first or second place. Of course, great merit belongs to our citizens, who were very disciplined in adhering to the measures and recommendations of the medical profession and crisis staffs. As far as criticism is concerned, we have been facing great pressures since the declaration of the state of natural disaster on March 16. I will remind you that we were accused from RS that the Federation slept through the crisis. Individuals from opposition parties in the Federation of BiH tried to deceive the public by claiming that the situation in RS was much better, that better measures were being taken, that 10 times more citizens were being tested daily than in the Federation of BiH, and what not. Here, today everyone can see what the situation is in FBiH, and what in RS. The facts and figures are relentless and deny critics from both the RS and the FBiH opposition.

* You have been criticized for economic measures as well. Again, the thesis is that the RS Government has taken better and more concrete measures?

- Again, these are unfounded claims and criticisms, as they were in the case of the health segment of the crisis. And this will be shown very soon, so the citizens will be convinced again that this is baseless criticism or pure populism of individuals. I will remind you that the anti-corona law was adopted and the budget was revised, which provided the economy with one billion KM for recovery. At the same time, we ensured a stable supply of electricity, gas and telecommunications, controlled the price margins of basic food items, were the first government to oppose the oil lobby and lower fuel prices. We have been reallocating funds in the ministries in order to free up funds to fight the consequences of the pandemic - from agriculture to health. The trend of job losses has stopped; employment is starting to grow again. We have unblocked 163 million KM of investments in Elektroprenos. Every wrong move should of course be criticized, every doubtful one investigated to the end, but for the common good it is also necessary to respect the truth and objective results. Not only of the Government, I say this also because of the daily efforts of thousands of people on the ground, who have given and are doing their best to have a stable situation that many more functional, richer and simpler systems than ours do not have.

(FENA) A. B.

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