Archive of articles - September 1999, page 4

Government strikes deal for Nafta Trade - 1 Sk, plus debts

Devín Banka wins SE debt tender

State energy utility Slovenské Elektrárne (SE) on September 8 gave the controversial Devín Banka the lucrative job of mediating the settlement of Russia's debt to Slovakia, even though the bank still owes the Finance Ministry an unspecified sum in unpaid dues from its previous Russian debt contract.The selection of Devín Banka was savagely attacked by some members of the governing SDK party, who along with Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Mikloš were concerned about the fairness of the tender used to select the bank. Mikloš himself said at a press conference on September 13 that "I will investigate all possibilities within my power to have this selection cancelled," but conceded that only a court decision could break the contract between the utility and Devín Banka.

SPORTS BRIEFS

Monarchs notch playoff berthSlovak Hockey Extraliga underwayAngels and Fighting Flies in SBF finals

Court overrides complaint against setting Lexa free

Slovak monthly inflation in August only 0.5%

HZDS accepts first top parliamentary post since 1998

Parliament adopts law on public procurement

Slovakia's EU chances uncertain

With just under three months to go before the December European Union Helsinki summit, things are looking good for Slovakia to take its place next to its Visegrad neighbors in the first round of nations being considered for accession. Diplomatic activity has been accelerated, and government officials both at home and abroad are painting Slovakia's chances in positive terms.On September 14, Slovakia received two confirmations that its EU track efforts will be succesful. Portuguese Deputy Foreign Minister Saixas Da Costa and his UK counterpart John Kerr said separately that they believed Slovakia would be asked to join the first group.

Slovak's heroics earn mountaineering honor

A Slovak mountaineer who single-handedly saved the life of a Japanese climber on Alaska's Mount McKinley in June has been chosen by mountaineering rangers as the 1999 Denali Pro Mountaineer of the Year.Michal Krissak, 21, saved ailing climber Shigeo Tamoi in June in a rescue made more difficult when other climbers refused to help, according to Alaskan National Park Service rangers Roger Robinson and Daryl Miller.That left Krissak, a strong 6-foot-4 native of Nová Lesná, Slovakia, alone to get Tamoi to safety.

Internet Securities launches Slovak service

'Slovak gold' dispute loses rancour

PRAGUE: Six years after the split of former Czechoslovakia, the governments of the Czech and Slovak Republics took what appeared to be several major steps in early September in settling the debts that linger between the former federal partners.Under the supervision of Slovak Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Ivan Mikloš and Czech Finance Minister Pavel Mertlík, a joint working group of Czech and Slovak economic specialists met for the last time on September 11 to clear the way for an agreement between the countries on the settlement of mutual debts."The working group has concluded its one-year tenure and prepared materials that summarize both countries' duties towards each other," Czech Finance Ministry spokesman Libor Vacek said.

Hungarian politician burned to death

Škoda climbs to record 55% market share in Slovakia

IRB shareholders lower capital, ready bank for sale

A special shareholders meeting on September 7 at the troubled Investičná a Rozvojová Banka (IRB) voted to lower the bank's basic capital from 8.2 billion Slovak crowns to 504.6 million, the minimum amount required by the Banking Act. The money will be used to offset the bank's losses, which exceed nine billion crowns.The IRB has been under a caretaker administration imposed by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) since December 1997 because of serious liquidity problems. Since the term of the caretaker administration expires at the end of 1999, the bank's shareholders are trying urgently to find a strategic investor before then.

Slovak, Hungarian Transport Ministers sign aviation deal

Teachers threaten school strike

Blasting their low salaries and a round of recent layoffs, educational employees opened the new school year on September 2 with protests in Slovakia's three main cities - Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice. The protesting teachers threatened to strike if the government did not meet their demands."Ten years ago, a general strike forced the communist government to leave," a teacher from the elementary school in Stupava called out at the Bratislava rally. "Now we should do the same thing. Words mean nothing, we have to go on strike," he shouted, winning the applause of his fellow teachers.Officially, the Teachers and Scientists Union is asking for a wage increase of five percent as of October 1 this year. Currently, wages for teachers, which start at about 7,000 Slovak crowns ($167) per month, are among the lowest for Slovak state employees. The teachers also protested the recent lay-offs of 10% of the system's non-teaching employees, such as school administrators and janitors. According to state plans, 8,000 teachers will lose their jobs next year.

Cash-poor Socialna Poisťovňa scrambles for a financial lifeline

Unpaid insurance premiums, an outdated pension system and widespread fraud has brought one of the country's largest insurance companies, Sociálna Poisťovňa (SP), to the brink of collapse. SP expects to lose 2.45 billion Slovak crowns ($58 million) this year, and for the first time in its history to finish with a deficit in its basic pension fund.Although the company will compensate for the pension shortfall by transferring money out of its basic health insurance fund, this move will lower SP's reserves by 7.5 billion crowns to 1.8 billion at the end of 1999. In other words, if the pension fund haemorrhage is not plugged this year, the company will not have sufficient reserves to cover next year's deficit.

70% of jobless without work for over a year

Public "scarred" by privatisation

Growing up in the western Slovak village of Horná Streda, eight kilometres north of Piešťany, Vlastimil Vicen was a "very smart and mischievous kid," said a former classmate who smiled as he recalled the adolescent shenanigans the two would get up to together.Sitting in a local village pub on September 5, the man said he hadn't seen Vicen in person since he left for university years ago. He had, however, followed his friend's exploits in the Slovak tabloids with great interest. Vicen's drunk-driving accident outside Bratislava in April this year, and his presence in July at the funeral of underworld boss Peter 'Žaluď' Steinhubel came to mind, the man said.For many Slovaks, however, former MP Vlastimil Vicen is an example of the cleptocrat tendencies they have hated in the country's politicians over the past ten years.