Sarajevo’s new mayor, Benjamina Karic, told N1 television after her first day in office that the City Administration is full of enthusiasm to work for the benefit of the citizens and that her guiding principle is that she “must not let this city down.”

The Sarajevo City Council unanimously elected Benjamina Karic, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the new mayor of Bosnia’s capital on Thursday.

Karic, born in 1991 in Sarajevo, is known to the public as the youngest doctor of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the first post-war doctor of classical Roman law.

“I think that in the beginning, we should all work hard, to see what the situation is in the City Administration. It is inhumane to judge someone’s work before you meet them. I have a good team, quality people around me,” she said.

The transition of office went by in a good atmosphere, she said, adding that the previous mayor, Abdulah Skaka, “will be proud” of the projects she will be working on.

Karic praised Skaka for finishing the cable car project his predecessor had started.

The project entailed the reconstruction of a prewar cable car that connects Sarajevo’s Old Town with Mt Trebevic.

She also noted that during Skaka’s term the Sarajevo Olympic museum was refurbished.

“These are projects that show our city in the most beautiful light. Citizens can be proud,” she said.

Karic previously announced she will sell the car – a VW Passat – her office is using and explained why.

“The citizens of Sarajevo are in a difficult situation. I wouldn’t feel good driving in an expensive car. This is only a drop in the ocean, nothing even close to how much needs to be done,” she said, adding that “the biggest things start with a small step.”

The new mayor announced that the city will from now on support an NGO established by late former General Jovan Divjak, who spent his post-war days helping war orphans and poor children get an education.

“I will work for the association to grow into a foundation that will not have to worry about funding. That is my plan,” she said.

Karić said she is a lawyer and that she will have “a zero-tolerance toward unlawful acts.”

She has already requested from her staff to submit reports about their activities over the past four years, adding that “anything that is not in accordance with the law and is illegal will be made public.”
“I must not let the citizens down.

“If I am ever in a situation to choose, I must not let the citizens down, I will always choose them,” she said.