County Prefect Jozić Takes Out €12 Million in Loans, Fails to Repay €87,000
While the office gleams with luxury and millions go to a fruit warehouse, the Požega-Slavonia County has been ignoring its debt for the regional waste center for years.
While the office gleams with luxury and millions go to a fruit warehouse, the Požega-Slavonia County has been ignoring its debt for the regional waste center for years.
The Požega-Slavonia County, led by County Prefect Antonija Jozić (HDZ), has taken on a total of €12 million in debt over the past six months. At the same time, for nearly two years, it has failed to settle a debt of €87,308.38 owed to the neighboring Brod-Posavina County for the joint project of the Regional Waste Management Center "Šagulje."
At the end of last year, the county signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance for an interest-free loan of €6 million, with a repayment period of 30 years, to cover accumulated debts. Last week, the government of Andrej Plenković gave its consent for a new loan of the same amount, but this time from Privredna banka Zagreb at an interest rate of 2.39 percent and a repayment period of ten years. This money is intended for the completion of the Regional Fruit and Vegetable Distribution Center.
In the period between these two major borrowings, several controversial episodes occurred. In June 2026, it was announced that "several hundred thousand euros" had mysteriously disappeared from the county's accounts. Although nearly two months have passed, the exact amount has not been disclosed to the public due to the interests of the investigation. Unofficially, a sum of nearly €700,000 is mentioned, but there is no official confirmation.
Last week, it was also revealed that Prefect Jozić, despite the fact that several hundred thousand euros had vanished from the budget, decided to thoroughly renovate her office. About €25,000 was spent for this purpose. Witnesses claim that the office now gleams with luxury.
In the meantime, the prefect made a unilateral decision to repurpose the building of the secondary school in Pleternica, into which €3 million had been invested during its construction, which began while she was mayor. Although it was known in advance that there would not be enough students, the building was structurally completed but without interior or exterior finishing. It is now planned to be converted into a Center for Children with Developmental Disabilities. The county did not respond to questions about the cost, stating only that funds for the revision of the project and technical documentation are planned in the 2026 budget.
While the county is borrowing millions, it has not settled its obligation of €87,308.38 to the Brod-Posavina County since August 26, 2024. This is the third installment of the costs for connecting to the electricity grid for the Regional Waste Management Center "Šagulje" near Nova Gradiška, where waste from the Požega-Slavonia County will also be disposed of. The outstanding amount was recorded in the center's business books as of August 3, 2026.
The SDP of the Brod-Posavina County reacted to the whole situation with a touch of sarcasm: "We congratulate the Prefect of the Požega-Slavonia County, Mrs. Antonija Jozić, on her strategic choice of development based on ecology, cleanliness of nature, and food production, as well as on the construction of the Regional Fruit and Vegetable Center. While in our neighboring Požega-Slavonia County they will be packing apples, vegetables, and products that represent the future of sustainable agriculture, our Brod-Posavina County has chosen a completely different path-the construction of the Regional Waste Management Center. In other words: while you pack apples, we will pack garbage. And that is what our prefect has provided for us."
The total value of the Regional Fruit and Vegetable Center is estimated at nearly €12 million. Its capacity will be three thousand tons, with six chambers for storing apples, pears, frozen fruit, and vegetables. Given the state of Croatian agriculture, the question arises as to where such large quantities of fruit and vegetables for this center will come from.
Prefect Jozić is making all these moves with the support of the top of the HDZ. On Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, August 5, 2026, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met with the Prefect of the Šibenik-Knin County, Paško Rakić, and the leadership of the Knin HDZ, led by Robert Marić. They discussed the further development of infrastructure in that county. On the same day, in a separate post on Twitter marking the anniversary of Operation Storm, Plenković said: "Thirty-one years ago, Croatian defenders raised the flag above Knin and fulfilled the dream of generations who believed in a free Croatia. Today, under that same flag, we pay tribute to the greatness of their historic feat. To Croatian defenders, to Croatia, and to the generations to come, we owe it to make Croatia even safer, stronger, and more successful, economically and financially more prosperous."
