“The group of locals calls on the cantonal prosecutor to make a decision in favor of the locals, based on all the evidence and statements that have been collected for a year, and to initiate proceedings against former ministers and employees of the Ministry of Economy who abused their position and authority to award the disputed concession near our sources of drinking water”.
The proud attitude of the cantonal authorities in recent decades towards Livno and its citizens seems to have come to an end. The political winds of Livonia seem to have started to blow differently, in accordance with the will of the local residents. Optimism has also been awakened, that something can change with civic activism and continuous pressure from citizens on decision-makers.
For decades, an interest group of quasi-businessmen, with the support of people from the cantonal government, received concession contracts as a gift, not respecting the basic principle of local self-government, the opinion and attitude of the locals in whose area they granted concessions for water, wind, and sun. And “everything according to the Law”, as our rulers like to say, when they are caught in some dubious and non-transparent activities. The courts, the prosecutor’s office, as well as all clientelistic, in one way or another, connected to the authorities, were silent… But, a group of locals who gravitate to the priceless natural resource of Lake Mandek, worried about the fate of this area, started a process that can no longer be stopped . The results are visible – now the locals are still asking something.
The organized resistance of the locals who gravitate to Lake Mandek began in the summer of 2022, when the locals used their bodies to prevent the start of drilling near their sources of drinking water.
After that, the citizens of Livno gathered around the informal group “Protect the sources of Mandek” and launched a campaign with the aim of reviewing and canceling the concession contract for the exploration and exploitation of drinking water near their sources, on which, as they pointed out, their life and survival depend in that locality.
With the campaign “The sources of Mandek are not for sale”, they managed to animate the public, raise the problem to the public level, collected all the necessary documentation and evidence that the concession near their sources was granted illegally, without the opinion of the locals and the general public, without valid permits and approvals. In a word, the cantonal authorities favored the investor, “circumventing” the laws. For years, the locals scheduled meetings with the cantonal authorities, the former presidents of the cantonal assembly and the relevant ministers of the economy, sent letters, emergencies, sent messages through the media, but the cantonal authorities ignored them.
But the persistence of these people finally paid off. On 28/02/2024, at the 30th regular session of the Livno City Council, the majority of the councilors voted for the Conclusion on the annulment of the consent of the Municipal Council from 2010 on the granting of a concession for the exploitation and research of “water” at the location “Poljana” in Livno. The majority of the councilors stood by the locals who won the first institutional victory on the way to permanently protect their sources of drinking water, in the vicinity of which research and exploitation were planned.
“This Conclusion of GV Livno was a turning point in our efforts to finally take into account the opinions of the locals and the evidence we have been collecting for years, and for the Livno City Administration and councilors to take into account our views on the disputed concession”, say the activists of the informal group of citizens “Protect the sources of Mandek” “.
“Immediately after the session of the City Council, we sent a request to the President of the County Assembly and the relevant Minister of Economy to accept the Conclusion of GV Livno and start the process of reviewing the disputed concession, which would ultimately be the annulment of the Concession Agreement”, added the activists.
The city administration and GV Livna did not stop at one conclusion, but continued to make decisions that started the institutional struggle to respect the opinions of Livno citizens and the law, to introduce order and justice in the area of issuing concessions on the territory of the City of Livno. At the 32nd session of GV Livno, held on 5/27/2024. three Conclusions were made that are of great importance for the citizens of Livno who have been waiting for these decisions of the city authorities and the Council for decades.
CONCLUSION 1:
The City Council of Livno, in accordance with Article 110 paragraph (1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of Herceg-Bosnia County (“Narodne novine HBŽ”; number: 8/03), initiates an initiative towards the Assembly of Herceg-Bosnia County to adopt the Decision on repealing the Decision on the Adoption of the Spatial Plan for the area of Herceg-bosna County for a period of 20 years (“Narodne novine HBŽ”; number: 8/23), until the public hearing on the Spatial Plan for the area of Herceg-bosna County for a period of 20 years, for the reason that the Draft Spatial Plan for the area of Herceg-bosna County for a period of 20 years, no public discussion was held in accordance with Article 21, paragraph (2) of the Law on Spatial Planning of Herceg-Bosnia County (“Narodne novine HBŽ”; number: 12/14).
CONCLUSION 2:
Livno City Council revokes (invalidates) all previously granted approvals for all previously granted inactive concessions, i.e. concessions for which the concessionaire has not paid or has not paid concession fees for the last five years.
The Livno City Council takes the position that, until the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Concessions of Herceg-Bosnia County is passed, in accordance with the Conclusion of the Livno City Council, number: 01-02-1248/24 of 28.2.2024. year, adopted at the 30th regular session of the Livno City Council, to refuse to give consent to all requests for granting concessions under the currently valid Law on Concessions of Herceg-Bosnia County.
CONCLUSION 3:
The Livno City Council adopts the conclusion and proposes to the Government of Herceg-Bosnia County that for this and all future requests to the Ministry of Economy of Herceg-Bosnia County for prior consent, when it comes to concessions for renewable energy sources from wind and solar energy, with the condition of a positive attitude of the local community unit in whose area is the concession field stated at the public hearing, when concluding the concession contract for concessions in the area of the City of Livno, ensure:
1. Payment of an additional fee in favor of the Budget of the City of Livno fixed per MWh of installed power of the wind power plant in the amount of 6,000.00 BAM per year, increased every year by the annual inflation rate or in the amount of 2,700.00 BAM per MWh of installed power of the photovoltaic power plant, increased by the annual inflation rate in each subsequent year.
2. Investment in the projects of the local community unit, through a contract concluded between the investor and the legal entity determined by the local community unit in the annual amount of 3.80 BAM per MWh of electricity produced from the wind farm, increased every year by the annual inflation rate or 2.51 BAM per year per MWh of electricity produced in the photovoltaic power plant, increased by the annual inflation rate in each subsequent year.
3. In a situation where the power plant does not produce electricity for some reason or produces at a reduced capacity, the concessionaire is obliged to pay a minimum of BAM 10,000.00 per MWh of installed power of the wind power plant or BAM 4,000.00 per MWh of connected power of the photovoltaic power plant. The concessionaire is obliged to pay this amount per installed or connected power provided that the income of the local community unit calculated per produced electricity is lower than the income calculated per MWh of installed power of the wind power plant or MWh of connected power of the photovoltaic power plant. The calculation per MW of the installed power of the wind power plant and the connected power of the photovoltaic power plant is increased by the annual inflation rate starting from the first year of operation of the power plant.
After the session of GV Livno, representatives of the informal group of citizens “Protect the sources of Mandek” and local residents, together with representatives of the Centers of Civil Initiatives, Transparency International BiH and the Aarhus Center, held a meeting with the Cantonal Minister of Economy Miroslav Jaglica, where they presented their position and arguments on the need to review the controversial concession contract.
After several years of asking the former cantonal authorities for such a meeting, this is the first time that a minister in the Government of Canton 10 takes the time to listen to the locals and representatives of organizations that support the local people’s struggle for their cause, and to finally establish a dialogue with representatives of the cantonal authorities. Also, the Prime Minister stated in the conversation with the representatives of the locals that he will not support any solutions on which the locals do not have a positive attitude.
“After the Conclusions of the Livno City Council and the positive trend of decision-making in favor of the citizens of Livno, we expect the Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy to accept the adopted Conclusions of the City Council, the facts and evidence that we have submitted to them, and initiate a series of activities that will regulate the area of concessions, but and spatial planning, so that the citizens of Livno, as well as other cities of the county, would actively participate in the process of awarding concessions, for the benefit of citizens and the local community, and not, as before, for the benefit of individuals and lobbies around them. The first step of this Government would be to put the controversial concession out of force and that the locals in that locality can devote themselves to living from the fruits of their labor, in this case from agriculture and the production of the famous Livanja cheese”, emphasized the activists of the informal group “Protect the sources of Mandek “. By adding:
“Also, a group of locals calls on the cantonal prosecutor to, on the basis of all the evidence and statements that have been collected for a year, make a decision in favor of the locals, and to initiate proceedings against former ministers and employees of the Ministry of Economy who abused their position and authority to grant disputed concessions near our sources of drinking water”.
Source: antikorupcija.info
