In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), brave, independent journalists are one of the last lines of defense against the rampant corruption that robs citizens of quality lives. Political elites, driven exclusively by narrow party and personal interests, are characterized by the general absence of responsibility or concern for the best interests of the public.

Žurnal, a grantee of USAID’s ACCOUNT project, has published several investigative stories unveiling corrupt activities in BiH (see other success stories). In some cases, the stories of local corruption have drawn international attention and consequences.

In one case, Zurnal journalists revealed fraud by Livno Canton Minister of Internal Affairs Darinko Mihaljevic. Three of Mihaljevic’s children obtained Croatian university scholarships allocated for socially vulnerable students by misrepresenting (underreporting) the incomes of their parents during the application process. Through the deception, they also received free housing in the student dormitories.

Zurnal’s ‘scholarship affair’ story was picked up by more than 30 other media outlets in BiH and Croatia, stoking widespread public debate about the moral downfall of BiH politicians. The story led to public outcry – and repercussions.

“This is an abuse of his position and influence,” says Zurnal online reader and commenter Mirsad. "This is why those who really need scholarships cannot get them,” said another online reader Dzemal.

In Croatia, the Ministry of Interior opened an investigation against Mihaljevic. The Croatian Ministry of Education subsequently rescinded the scholarships and forced the family to reimburse the amount they had already received. Further, in the face of local media and public pressure in BiH, Minister Mihaljevic resigned from his position of president of his political party’s municipal board in Livno.  

USAID supports Zurnal through its Anti-Corruption Civic Organizations’ Unified Network (ACCOUNT) project. See other ACCOUNT success stories here. The project, which runs from 2015 to 2019, is designed to strengthen civil society and media collaboration in BiH to hold the government accountable for enacting anti-corruption reforms. As a grantor, USAID has no editorial influence over any news stories, but is instead committed to supporting the profession of investigative journalism.