After witnessing constant negotiations on the Ukom-STA route since the new government took office, because the then director Bojan Veselinovič was unable to deliver the required documentation, which would be the basis for financing the agency, Veselinovič finally decided to leave the post of STA director. He was replaced by Igor Kadunc, former director general of the public broadcaster RTV. Ukom director Uroš Urbanija sent an invitation to the new STA director Igor Kadunc for the first meeting.
On October 18th this year, the STA Supervisory Board appointed Igor Kadunc as the new STA director. He will take up his full term on January 1st next year, and will run the agency as acting director from October 31st.
Urbanija reminded of the inadequate functioning of the current STA leadership
“Next week, you will take on a very important and responsible task of managing the Slovenian Press Agency. First of all, let me congratulate you on your appointment, and at the same time a lot of energy and success in running this important state-owned company,” wrote Ukom director Uroš Urbanija in the introduction to the letter.
Urbanija went on to point out that the current management of STA has brought the agency into a situation which, according to Ukom, is detrimental both to the agency’s employees and users of its services. “In the hope that things will move for the benefit of the agency, and especially the employees, I invite you to the first working meeting, on November 2nd, 2021 at 13:00 in the premises of the Government Communication Office,” concluded Urbanija.
Many were surprised when, on September 30th, Veselinovič announced that talks with the director of the Government Communications Office, Urbanija, on a public service contract in 2021 had failed and that he could not agree to the conditions under which “a government representative is forcing payment for public service, which STA has been performing for free for 273 days now”. He therefore decided to resign as director of the STA. At the time, the director of Ukom reacted to this with an estimation that Veselinovič did not have a sincere desire to sign a contract and settle the situation at STA. “Since there were no more arguments why not to sign the contract, he preferred to resign,” he stressed, adding that he had lost all legal proceedings so far.
Urbanija described the decision of STA director Veselinovič as a kind of surprise, after Ukom granted him practically in all his demands, except for those that are in clear contradiction with the law. “But after today’s resignation, it seems that Veselinovič did not have a sincere desire to sign a contract and settle the situation at STA. As there were no more arguments why not to sign the contract, he preferred to resign,” Urbanija explained Veselinovič’s move, adding that this was unfortunately the way director Veselinovič worked last year. Unlike his predecessor, will Igor Kadunc be able to find solutions to finally settle the saga around the agency’s financing, or will the employees continue to be held hostage to politicised accounting?
Nina Žoher
