Archive of articles - July 1999, page 3

Letter to the Editor: Poprad-Tatry came out a winner after all

Nafta scandal a cabinet 'own goal'

The latest Slovak privatisation scandal - the snap purchase of a lucrative Slovak natural gas concern by an American energy corporation - widened significantly at the end of June. Two senior state officials have been asked to resign, with criminal charges pending, while a private businessman spent a night in jail and is being investigated on charges of defrauding the state of over three billion Slovak crowns ($70 million).The 'Nafta affair,' as the case is now popularly known, has the government worried that its mishandling of the sale will cut a swathe through investor confidence. "One of the most significant consequences, and one that I am most terrified of, is that foreign investors may lose interest in further investment into Slovak companies," said Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová in an interview for The Slovak Spectator on June 29. "I think that the ruling coalition kicked the ball into its own goal," she added.

Tenants' rights often trampled in Slovakia

Jim Gladstone, an American who has lived in Slovakia since 1994, found out the hard way how little protection tenants really enjoy in Slovakia.Gladstone lives in a block of flats on Klemencová Street in Bratislava. When the owner of the building began construction of an extra floor on top of the building, Gladstone protested, feeling that his rights and those of his neighbours were being violated.Gladstone said he was worried about the damage the builders might cause to existing flats. "When they add another level, they're going to have to pull the roof off at some point and eventually it's going to rain," he said. "Similar construction took place on [nearby] Grösslingova Street, and from what I understand, the flats on the top floors are basically ruined."

State guarantees $225 million Slovak Rail loan

Cash-strapped Slovak rail (ŽSR) will get a government-guaranteed $225 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in July - as long as it cuts its staff, raises ticket prices and relies less on state handouts.The preliminary conditions of the loan are that the EIB will provide a 15-year credit at an interest rate of 0.25 percentage points over LIBOR. The Slovak Cabinet agreed on June 30 to secure the loan, which Slovak rail will use for capital investments and to stabilize its operations.The EIB's conditions for the provision of the loan are that ŽSR increase charges for transportation and that subsidies it receives from the state budget to cover the costs of passenger transportation be reduced. Moreover, the bank demands that ŽSR cut its workforce over the next three years, increase labour productivity and reduce the extent of the rail network in Slovakia.

Lafarge increases stake in Považská cement works to 27%

Slovnaft oil refinery expects 2.8 billion Sk loss for 1999

Petržalka riverfront enjoying minor construction boom

Petražalka is the largest district in Bratislava, and also the most notorious. Nicknamed 'Bratislava's Bronx,' Petržalka has long been renowned for its high rates of drug addiction, alcoholism and suicide. Its 'socialist realism' architecture is ugly, and its aura of human depression palpable.But nowadays, when people look across the river at the sprawl of identical concrete buildings, they are looking at a Petržalka that is doing its best to transform itself into a desirable place to live. Numerous new construction sites, especially in the area closest to Bratislava between Einsteinová Street and the Danube River, are being started and finished with a rapidity that suggests that Petržalka may soon lose its 'wrong side of the river' image.

Two Slovaks taken in first round of NHL draft

Finland new target for Romany refugees

Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen suggested on July 1 that Slovakia review its treatment of Slovak Gypsies after hundreds of them sought asylum in Finland in the past week.Lipponen spoke on Finnish television as Finland on Thursday last week took over the rotating presidency of the European Union, and he indicated that the issue could affect Slovakia's chances of joining the EU."It is out of the question that countries where conditions are not in order should join the European Union," Lipponen said. He said it was exceptional that so many refugees should come to Finland from a single country and that his government was investigating the matter.

Letter to the Editor: Slovaks do not belong in Kosovo.

Labour Office to run out of funds before end of year

Construction Minister laments 'transitional' environment

Construction Minister István Harna is one of three Hungarian Party (SMK) members of cabinet. With a degree in Economics, he served as a member of the former Slovak parliament in former Czechoslovakia from 1980 to 1992, and then as a member of parliament in independent Slovakia from 1993 until the present.The Slovak Spectator visited his office on June 29 to find out what the Construction Ministry actually does, and how it is trying to help the Slovak real estate market.

French firm pitches subway plans to city

Plans to construct a 30 billion Slovak crown ($70 million) metro for Bratislava were unveiled by the French-based joint venture Matra Transport International (MTA) on June 25. According to MTA Senior Vice President Antoine Massabki, if all goes according to schedule, the first leg of the metro, stretching from the Bratislava district of Petržalka to the Hotel Forum in downtown Bratislava, could carry its first passengers within six years.The abrupt announcment may have surprised city residents, who were told by Bratislava mayor Jozef Moravčík after his election last December that Bratislava's dreams of a subway would have to be put on hold for at least two years.

Marián Jusko proposed as next NBS Governor

After six years in office as the governor of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), Vladimír Masár will be succeeded by his deputy Marián Jusko by the end of July, Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda announced June 30.Banking professionals welcomed Jusko as a fitting replacement for Masár. Anton Kozma, assistant director of the EBRD's division for the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, called Jusko "a well-known and respected figure in the banking community. I don't think that his appointment will change the positive international perception of the NBS. I expect that he will continue to pursue the sober financial policy that we expect from the national bank."

Letter to the Editor: Tourists missing Slovakia's beauty

No more scapegoats:Černák must go

The origin of the word 'scapegoat' is somewhat apocryphal; Jewish high priests, legend has it, would symbolically place the sins of the community on an ordinary village goat, which would then be released to 'escape' into the desert. Along with its burden of ugly human crimes, the goat presumably bore away accountability and retribution.It seems that this old tradition has been resurrected by the Dzurinda government in the furore over the apparent sale of gas storage firm Nafta Gbely to the American energy giant Cinergy. Dzurinda and his cohorts have seized the first likely-looking goat - FNM privatisation agency president Ľudovít Kaník - and saddled him with the blame for the government's handling of the Nafta fiasco. Kaník has been offered the choice of resigning - and wandering off into the desert - or undergoing an investigation.

SPaP shipping company reports slim profit four months into 1999

Net investment position of Slovakia detriorated significantly in 1998

Poprad-Tatry Olympics bid to continue