Supervisor of Brcko Henry L. Clarke has asked Brcko District Mayor Sinisa Kisic to replace Mr. Bosko Maricic, Director of ODP “Majevica” Brcko, and its Steering Board following the action of the Prosecutor’s Office in seeking the confirmation of an indictment against Mr. Maricic. The indictment charges Mr. Maricic with abuse of office and failure to carry out his official duty by permitting the illegal construction of residences on “Majevica” property for himself and another 30 families between January 2000 and May 2002, without payment of any compensation for the land or obtaining construction licenses.
“Majevica” is a publicly owned company. The Director and Steering Board of “Majevica”, like those of all publicly owned enterprises, are responsible for managing the company and its assets for the benefit of the District. Instead, according to the indictment, Mr. Maricic took advantage of company property for himself and allowed other illegal constructions to take place. Mr. Maricic never should have permitted the construction to occur or should have contacted the authorities to prevent it. He did neither. The Steering Board never took measures to stop the illegal construction or adequately supervised Mr. Maricic’s actions in this matter.
Diverting public property to private use without authorization constitutes a failure to protect the public interest. Mr. Maricic’s and the Steering Board’s collective failure to protect public property demonstrates their unwillingness to meet their responsibilities and their unsuitability to continue in their posts.
The Supervisor’s request is no indication of Mr. Maricic’s guilt or innocence of the charges brought against him. That is for the judicial process to decide. Due to the seriousness of these charges, however, Mr. Maricic and the Steering Board of “Majevica” cannot be permitted to remain associated with “Majevica”.
This is in keeping with the standard of corporate responsibility set last year with the dismissal of the Director and Steering Board of Palis. In August 2001, the Supervisor asked the Mayor to remove the Director and Steering Board of Palis, another publicly owned company, when they created questionable financial liabilities, which would amount to an unlawful attempt to sell the company.
The indictment sought by the prosecutors against Maricic is another indication that the rule of law can and will be applied in the District. The Prosecutor’s Office conducted an investigation based on information received about alleged illegal construction on “Majevica” property. Following that investigation, the Prosecutor presented an indictment to the Brcko District Basic Court for confirmation. The Court may confirm the indictment after a hearing in which Mr. Maricic will have an opportunity to present his response to the charges filed against him. A confirmation hearing was scheduled in the Basic Court on July 19, 2002, and again on July 24, 2002, but Mr. Maricic failed to appear on both occasions citing a medical condition.