Political ethics watchdog Transparency International Slovensko (TIS) has called on Slovakia's government to announce immediately precise rules for allocating flood relief to individuals and post them on the internet, along with a list of applicants, approved beneficiaries, the reason for payment, and the amount provided in euros, after approving flood-related contributions.

"Although at least one thousand contributions have already been approved, the list has not been made available to the public yet," TIS Director Gabriel Šípoš said, as reported by the SITA newswire.

In order to make sure that the aid provided after the floods is effective, the government wants to allocate it to around 18,000 beneficiaries in a very short time. According to information released to date, mayors, district offices, labour offices, as well as ministries will be engaged in drawing up and approving the lists.

"With such a volume-demanding job under time pressure, there is a risk that not all contributions will go to families actually affected by the floods," he added. TIS warned that with the general election fast approaching, there is a risk that the government will give priority to municipalities whose mayors belong to the ruling coalition parties. It said that up-to-date lists of beneficiaries would enable public control, especially at the level of municipalities, revealing whether public money is being allocated on time and in a fair and effective manner.

Source: SITA

Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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