Croatian Radio Television has been without director general since 1 October.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Media Goran Marić (HDZ) said on Tuesday that the appointment of an acting director general of Croatian Radio Television (HRT) was a parliamentary priority and announced that the Parliament would deal with the issue after it confirms the new government, reports Večernji List on October 18, 2016.
Marić expressed his view during a meeting of the Committee, after Goran Beus Richembergh (HNS) warned the members that HRT had lost its director general after acting director general Siniša Kovačić’s term expired at the beginning of this month. “The situation at HRT is in a kind of limbo, and that is very serious”, said Beus Richembergh, proposing to other members to move as quickly as possible with the appointment of a new acting director general, “this week, if possible”
“There is no doubt that the Croatian Radio Television is in a crisis of management and that it is the result of poor legislation, the Law on HRT, which certainly needs to be amended”, said Marić to reporters after the session of the Committee, which supported the amendments to the law which were proposed by MOST and which will force the public broadcaster to carry out on its own legal procedures for collection of TV licence fee, instead of using private law firms, which charged millions of kuna in their own legal fees.
Marić agreed that the implementation of the Law on Croatian Radio Television had demonstrated a series of illogic solutions and irrationalities, and therefore supported the proposal to start a comprehensive review of the law. “I think that, due to all the circumstances which have taken place at HRT and the consequences which may arise from these circumstances, we should try to propose the appointment of an acting director general as early as next week”, concluded Marić.
Croatian Radio Television has been left without director general because Parliament was dissolved due to early elections which took place on 11 September, and therefore it was unable to appoint Kovačić’s replacement in time.
