Kočan changed his party and got a new position

Former director of the Maritime Safety and Port Management Authority Safet Kocan He is the new Acting Chief of the Communal Police in Bar since the beginning of August. He held the previous function as an official of the Bosniak Party, and the current one, according to unofficial information, as a member of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

He has been appointed acting chief of the Communal Police of the Municipality of Bar starting on August 9, 2024, for a fixed period of no longer than six months, it was confirmed by the local administration of Bar.

Former chief Dejan Škerović, as they stated, was appointed mayor on August 9, 2019, in accordance with the decision, for a period of five years, so his term as mayor expired on the same day that acting mayor Kočan was appointed.

The Bosnian Party (BS) told "Vijesta" that Kočan left their party in September 2022, right before the local elections in Bar. BS proposed him on several occasions for various functions, including membership in the Board of Directors of AD "Marina" Bar.

When asked which party Kočan belongs to, from the Municipality of Bar, which is managed by the DPS, they answered that Safet Kočan was recommended by his previous work and professional experience in similar jobs to be appointed acting chief for a period of no longer than six months.

"The local administration does not deal with the private life and activities of any employee, and therefore neither with Mr. Kočan's membership in any organization or party," they said.

"Vijesti" has unofficially learned from both parties that Kočan is now a member of the DPS. On the website of the Municipality of Bar, until the conclusion of this issue, Škerović, not Kočan, is still listed as the head of the Municipal Police, but he shared his new position with his friends on his profile on the social network Facebook.

The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) has twice established that Kočan violated the then Law on Prevention of Corruption as director of the Maritime Safety and Port Management Administration. As stated in the decision of the KAS from 2021, he violated Article 14 paragraph 2 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, because after taking office on the basis of concluded contracts with the authority in which he holds office, he received compensation based on work on the implementation of two projects "Andromeda" and "Kompass 2020", in the amount of more than 1.000,00 euros in 2019.

According to the same decision, he violated Article 23 paragraph 2 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, because he did not report the company "Kočan agencija" DOO, which is owned by his wife, in the Report on Income and Assets for 2019.

In the second decision of ASK from 2022 signed by the former director Jelena Perović, it is stated that he, as a public official, violated Article 23, Paragraph 2 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, because in the Report on Income and Assets for the year 2020 he did not report accurate and complete data, because he again did not report that his wife is among the founders of the "Kočan Agency" with a share in ownership of 100 percent.