Author: Ivica Brešić
A very important event in Livno, when it comes to granting concessions, went under the radar of the media. No media even tried to report the facts. At the end, the “Poskok” portal stated in the title that “it is difficult with the Indians”. Jutarnji list also mentioned the Indian reservation before the text, leaving an ambiguous impression as to why the Indian reservation was mentioned.
The importance of this hushed up event for Livno is hidden in the fact that after all the granted concessions, a (albeit informal) public hearing was held, attended by more than 100 people. All the media, local and non-local, duly ignored the public debate so that in the end it turned out that it was some Indians who did not give Mata Rimac the land.
Speaking of land, the truth is that these people were deprived of their land for decades without being asked. First, the former state took away 13 million square meters from “enemies of the state”, as they perceived us in these parts, for the construction of Lake Buš, paying a pittance or not so much. It was more than fifty years ago, when people lived in these parts since the land. If the state had not distributed “passports” to the villagers who left for Germany, they would still be living in conditions more befitting Indians.
This state, without public discussions and the knowledge of the locals, gave five million square meters to the collectors of concessions just above Miš and Golinjevo, without the locals even knowing that the entire area is under concession. Ten years have passed since the awarding of that concession to the company “Solbus”, which has not done anything to date, and the villages have benefited from that concession a little more than from Lake Buš. So no use! As space is managed here, it turns out that “Continental Adventure” is building a luxury resort on the space that will be surrounded by solar panels.
These are not the only concessions in Podhum parish. A group of domestic investors received a concession of 1.5 million square meters on Lake Mandek (or Val) for the construction of an adrenaline park. A concession for the construction of a wind park was also granted in Podhum parish, “Continental adventure” bought 30,000 square meters. All three quarries in Livanj are in that parish.
All these square meters, a total of more than 25 million , were given under concession in the Podhum parish to which Miši and Golinjevo belong, and those villages have nothing from the concessions. The locals of Golinjeva and Miša collected money for the construction of the substation themselves. The city water supply system reached the village by Lake Buško only in 2010, and the locals have been waiting for the construction of a secondary water supply network for 14 years. Some villages are only now getting their first asphalt.
How much the government’s attitude towards this people has changed is shown by the fact that more people left these villages after the war than for the former countries!
When they were invited to a public debate to express their opinion on the new project and when they responded in large numbers, they were met with a media blockade and the statement that the Indians are blocking the investments of Mata Rimac! They are still good and passed. In Megdan, instead of a public hearing, we got 150 policemen to assist the investor, who has never appeared to invest since that day!
The fact is that in this case neither the locals nor the investor are to blame for the dispute. The investment of Mate Rimac or anyone else who tried to invest in this area is blocked by the City of Livno, which has not adopted a new spatial plan since 1979, and it had to be adopted by law. The city of Livno is one of the last cities in BiH when it comes to digitalization of the cadastre.
The city of Livno has known for three years about the intention of the company “Continental adventure” to expand the project beyond Miš and Golinjevo. In those three years, they were able to adopt a spatial plan and enable all interested investors to invest in zones designated for tourist purposes. A regulatory plan could have been drawn up for the entire area from Lake Mandek through Bužanin to Prisoj and ask the locals what they think about tourist zones or the concession for a photovoltaic power plant, thus avoiding a situation where locals and investors are pushed into conflict.
The approach of our rulers, who give land under concession to whoever and wherever they can think of, is irresistibly reminiscent of a feudal approach. In the case of land distribution under concession, our rulers are more like Indians and they make it from India because they distribute the land to whoever they want, how they want and for what they want. Just like a real Indian feudal caste.
No one has the right to call out the locals, who for more than half a century have been surrounded by various concessions from which they have no benefit, just because they expressed their opinion!
Anyone who was at the public hearing could see for themselves that the locals, young and old, presented their arguments in a civilized manner.
In Livno, the possibility is finally open for the public to say something about concessions. It’s time to hold a public hearing on Kruzi. Let’s see what the people of Livnja think about the four planned wind parks in Kruzi!? For investors to know whether it makes sense to invest in tourist resorts if the main tourist attraction will be driven out for wind turbines.
Let the next “informal” public discussion be about the concession fields for the construction of wind farms in Kruzi. So let’s see who will sweep this public debate under the carpet!!!
The media content was created as part of the project “Promoting Citizen Participation in Local Government”, which the Center for Civic Cooperation from Livno is implementing with the support of the National Foundation for Democracy (NED). The content and views expressed in the text are the personal views of the author/host/editor/guest and do not reflect the views of the Center for Civic Cooperation and the National Foundation for Democracy. The use of the content and its transfer to third parties is possible with the prior consent of the Center for Civic Cooperation.
Source: cgslivno.org
