Nermin Mandra, a member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and a member of the Presidency of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), spent his entire working life on jobs related to the budgets of public companies and institutions at all levels. The successes of this Kakanj native in his professional and political career of more than 25 years are commensurate to the growth of his assets.
He started his career in 1994 in the Public Company Radio Kakanj, which was later privatized. He served as director and editor-in-chief. “There were seven of us working full-time and we all bought the same amount [of shares]. I later sold mine, thus six of them remained. One of the six also sold his shares, so currently, there are five owners”, Mandra told CIN journalists.
Immediately after graduating from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo in 2001, he took up more serious work engagement at the Kakanj Thermal Power Plant, which is part of Elektroprivreda BiH. He kept the job in this company despite the functions he later performed: “I am an employee of Elektroprivreda, i.e., the Kakanj Thermal Power Plant, and I had the contract saying that I could perform other jobs or hold positions outside the Thermal Power Plant for four years. I am obliged to return after four years, so I would leave [the office after that 4-year period]”.
Two years later, he became the Minister of Physical Planning, Transport and Communications, and Environmental Protection of the Zenica-Doboj Canton. He held this office for nearly two terms, until 2011. During this period, he bought two apartments, one in Kakanj and the other in Sarajevo.
Today, he lives in a three-room apartment that he bought in his hometown for 45,000 BAM, after he sold his previous property, namely construction land, and an apartment. He bought an apartment in Sarajevo in 2007 for BAM 107,000. In an interview with journalists, he explained that he has not yet been registered as its owner because of unresolved problems between the investors and the contractor.
In addition to the apartments, he also owns a weekend house and land in Bijelo Polje near Kakanj, for the construction of which he took a BAM 50,000 loan. In the 2018 Asset Declaration Form, he reported savings of BAM 55,000, and he told journalists that he invested that money in the weekend house. He reported driving a 50,000 BAM worth Touareg, while his wife has a Renault, which is estimated at 12,000 BAM.
To save his job, he was returning to the Kakanj Thermal Power Plant, first in 2007, where he stayed for a little over a month, and for the second time in 2016 for only three days. Also, from February 2011 to November 2012, he worked as an assistant director at the Thermal Power Plant. Then, in the 2012 local elections, he was elected mayor of Kakanj. He renewed his mandate four years later.
He believes that the mandates in BiH should be limited to a maximum of two because, as he says, he is convinced that no one who works honestly and hard can be effective after eight years.
“In the mining town of Kakanj we made a renaissance with various projects. (…) It is around-the-clock work. It simply wears you out, and I wanted to try my hand at something else and test my rating in a wider area”, said Mandra, who in 2018 – in the middle of his second term as mayor – won a seat in the State Parliament.
His pay in the TPP since 2001 and the BiH Parliament ranged from BAM 1,500 to 4,500.
Nermin Mandra has been a member of the SDA since its inception.
Nermin Mandra’s profile is part of CIN’s database “Politicians’ Assets”. This is the most complete database on the income and movable and immovable property of more than 130 officials and politicians of the ruling and opposition parties in BiH. The database consists of information on their education, professional and political career, as well as data on savings, loans, and their shares in companies. You can also find information on lawsuits and court rulings against politicians and officials.
