Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic said on Friday he sacked two Zagreb Holding management board members because it was his duty and mandate to act when things did not work, adding that Darko Richter backed out of being appointed head of the Srebrnjak hospital and that its Governing Council resigned.

He said that Zagreb Holding, the city’s multi-utility conglomerate, “is a big and complex system and it’s important that the whole management board work well, with the support of the assembly and the supervisory board.”

“There were tensions from the start… But after we selected three new management board members and they were not included in decision making, we had to intervene,” he told the press, explaining the sacking of Nikola Vukovic as Board president and Ante Samodol as a Board member.

Tomasevic said he expected the three remaining Board members to propose a business plan for 2022 in the next few weeks, which will be presented to the public and the City Assembly.

He would not comment on Samodol’s accusations against him and other Zagreb Holding management board members. “If anyone thinks we did something illegal, let them sue. My conscience is clear, my responsibility is still big and my determination strong.”

Tomasevic also said that Darko Richter backed out of being appointed head of the Srebrnjak Children’s Hospital after the publication of some contentious statements he made in the past.

The four members on the Srebrnjak Governing Council appointed by the city have resigned, the mayor said, announcing the appointment of a new Governing Council and a new call for applications for the hospital head.

Richter was selected by the Governing Council, which distanced itself from his views.