Zagreb Mayor, Tomislav Tomasevic, said on Monday evening he had not promised anyone any position in the city administration, adding he owes no one nothing and has a free hand to make decisions in the city he believes are in public interest.
“This is how I will act as long as I am Mayor,” Tomasevic said, speaking to the RTL commercial broadcaster.
The Conflict of Interest Commission has opened two complaints against Tomasevic during his first month in office, one concerning the appointments to the management and supervisory boards of the multi-utility conglomerate Zagreb Holding, and another concerning the appointment of one of his campaign donors to the steering council of the Srebrnjak hospital.
Tomasevic said on Monday he was confident both complaints will be dismissed.
He said Tomislav Lauc, whom the city administration appointed to the Srebrnjak Hospital Steering Council, was “one of 1,500 contributors to his campaign”, adding that “if appointing any one of them to one of the 340 institutions and steering councils in the City of Zagreb constitutes conflict of interest, then we have a big problem.”
If the people in question are experts, the fact that they had been contributors should not qualify them from being appointed, Tomasevic said.
The hospital steering council is not the management, he said, and the hospital director was an employee selected in a public call, while those who sit on the steering council are not.
“The decision on the hospital’s new director is up to the council, not me,” he added.
Cutting down the number of City administration departments
Asked if he felt that he had taken over the running of the city after one month in office or if he was still in “hostile surroundings” having taken over from the controversial longtime Mayor Milan Bandic, who died earlier this year, Tomasevic said a large number of people in the city administration were willing to cooperate, adding however it will take time to win their trust.
Of the 27 city office heads appointed by his predecessor, ten had resigned and the number of offices will be slashed down to 16. The heads of the new offices will be selected in public calls, he said.
“We’ll appoint the best people, regardless of whether they are members of a party – mine, someone else’s or no one’s. There will be no faking, they will be real public calls,” Tomasevic said.
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