By: G. B.
Minister of Justice Dominika Švarc Pipan apparently did not embrace Zoran Janković in vain, as she is saving her own skin in a similar Balkan manner.
As reported by STA, the minister will propose the dismissal of the Secretary-General of the ministry, Uroš Gojkovič, to the government due to alleged irregularities in the purchase of premises on Litijska Street, as confirmed to N1. The ministry is also considering options for relocating two other employees involved in the deal.
Minister Švarc Pipan told N1 that she would propose Gojkovič’s dismissal, and the government could decide on this during a correspondence session either today or on Friday. Gojkovič led the purchase of the judicial building on Litijska, which is being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NPU) due to alleged irregularities. The minister stated that all authorisations for the deal were transferred to the Secretary-General from the beginning, and he himself acknowledged being objectively responsible if any mistakes occurred.
In the deal, the Head of the Real Estate and Investment Service, Simon Starček, and the Head of the Financial Service at the Ministry of Justice, Janja Garvas, were also involved. The ministry is also considering options for relocating them to other positions where they will not have managerial responsibilities. As the minister stated, until the deal is conclusively clarified, she cannot trust the heads of services who were involved in the purchase of the building, even in other projects, and therefore they must be temporarily reassigned.
Before today’s government session, Švarc Pipan had already met with Prime Minister Robert Golob. In a statement to reporters after the government session, Golob expressed the expectation that they would “clarify how the process at the ministry unfolded, who led individual phases, and who signed under them”. She mentioned that they would prepare a report and had already provided most of the explanations to the media. Later, she told N1 that she had already provided all the explanations to the Prime Minister at the morning meeting.
In the morning, she stated that she is currently not considering resignation and, for now, enjoys the support of Prime Minister Robert Golob. However, coalition partners expressed on Wednesday the expectation that the minister would provide explanations about the mentioned deal. This was also discussed today in her affiliated party SD, where they refrain from commenting on the developments for now. On Friday, the party president Tanja Fajon is expected to address the media.
In the SDS, on Wednesday, they announced the filing of an interpellation regarding the minister’s work, accusing her of “undeniable objective responsibility” for alleged irregularities in the purchase of the mentioned premises. The question remains whether mere personnel changes at the ministry will be sufficient to clear her name.
