Archive of articles - April 2000, page 2

Telecom draft law criticised

After stumbling through bureaucracy and objections over the past year, the privatisation of Slovenské Telekomunikácie (Slovak Telecom - ST), which was to have been wrapped up last year, hit its latest snag on April 14.Mobile phone service provider Globtel said in a statement that the new Telecom law - which must be passed by parliament before ST can be privatised - drafted by the Telecom Ministry would put existing operators in the market at a disadvantage and that it was not fully compliant with standards set down by the European Union (EU).However, Telecom Ministry representatives struck back at the claims, saying that the draft was the best possible version given the constraints of EU and Slovak regulations, which had sometimes been in conflict.

Getting the right package

Many finance/project directors blame vendors for supplying accounting/business systems that do not work properly. It is, however, also the responsibility of business managers to make the buying decision, i.e. to select the proper supplier (right system + implementation).When buying a new business system, a company first contacts the business package vendor. An IT salesperson is the most common contact. Although the IT salespeople have some business accounting experience and IT knowledge, they mainly rely on their "pre-sales consultants/application specialists" (for product demonstration + installation), whilst they rarely bear responsibility for the package implementation.Consultants approach their clients in a different manner - they take responsibility for the implementation of packages their clients have chosen, often offering independent selection services to start with.

WB loan talks hit Washington rock

The government's failure to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) on a $400 million EFSAL loan for vital corporate and banking sector restructuring in Washington last week has renewed concerns over the direction of economic policy within the ruling coalition.Despite assurances from Slovak Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Ivan Mikloš that there was still a chance that an agreement on the loan could be reached, he admitted that the differences within the coalition itself - specifically between himself and Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová - over IMF involvement in the loan would necessitate further tough negotiations.

Slovak schools struggle to close IT gap with West

Gymnázium Juraja Hronca in Bratislava is something of an anomaly in the Slovak educational system - not only is the school connected to the Internet, its 50 computers available to the school's roughly 500 students have pervaded all areas of school activity, from research and word processing to extra-curricular activities.During breaks between lessons, children flock to the school's three computer rooms to surf the web and e-mail their friends. In 1998 Slovakia won the International Information Olympics - with a team comprised of students mostly from Juraja Hronca.But halfway around the world, Lyons Jr./Sr. High School in the US enjoys facilities far superior than those used at Jura Hronca.

Youth drug-access still high

A virtual unknown under communism, drugs became popular in Slovakia after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 when the subsequent opening of the borders introduced former Eastern Bloc countries to marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. In the years immediately after the revolution, drugs became a new fad as explorative Slovaks embraced the west, including its vices.While the initial wave of drug dependency has decreased in Slovakia over the past few years, the availability of drugs has not. Both Slovak youth and their parents are still learning how to deal with this still new phenomena.According to the EU School Survey on Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs (ESPAD), which is carried out every two years in European countries, every fourth teenager in Slovakia has had experience with illegal drugs. Over 60% of respondents said that drugs were easily accessible at discos or bars, 33% said that drugs were easy to purchase on the street, and 28% said that it was easy to get drugs at school.

Ivan Debnár: Slovak Internet availability 'very good'

The rise of the 'new economy' and e-commerce has been well-documented over the past year as the media and telecommunications and Internet businesses grow ever closer and more and more dependent upon the world-wide-web. Despite Slovakia's relative IT infancy compared to the West, some firms are now laying the foundations for the start of an e-commerce revolution that is set to take place in the near future.When the changes come, Zoznam, Slovakia's Yahoo, and its Director General Ivan Debnár are set to reap the benefits. The Slovak Spectator sat down with Debnár on April 12 to discuss his firm and the future of IT in Slovakia.The Slovak Spectator (TSS): What were the circumstances behind the launching of Zoznam? When and why was it started?

Top Pick: Flora Bratislava 2000

"Flora Bratislava 2000", the international fair of flowers and gardening tools held annually in Bratislava, is set to once again turn the capital city into a town of flowers on April 28. Held at Bratislava's Zimný Štadión, the fair offers a huge exhibition of flowers, plants and decorative trees beautifully arranged around fountains, gates and benches.Slovak, Czech , Yugoslav and Croatian firms will exhibit and sell their products in two indoor halls and an open area covering some 6000 m2. In halls A and B, visitors will be able to find anything connected to gardening including tips on how to improve their own gardens. There will be firms offering fresh and dry flowers, decorative trees, seeds, ceramics, fountains, Easter and Christmas decorations, gardening equipment and greenhouses.

The science of Project Management

There is a science to Project Management, and the technology experts have practised it: cost, quality, timeliness. But it has been up to the people responsible for workflow and organisation to attempt to make Project Management a fine art.The fun part of Project Design (a completely different animal to actually getting the project done) is to observe if the tenets of a well-run organisation are anywhere present. Designing a project is a brutal test on all levels, but it should happen as an opening step to management of what you designed.The most difficult aspect of project design is to make clear, to the group of people involved, what the project is, what you are designing. I remember all so well that fateful day when I began a major reorganisation project, one that had the intent of making the firm more competitive and focused, not even necessitating a downsizing.

Business Briefs

Matador profit up after company reorganisationŽSR looking to attract foreign investorsST profit up as it heads for privatisationSPP launches appeal over Ducký exchange billsSlovak ministers head for Washington negotiationsSlovakia to spend 137 million crowns on Expo 2000

'Irrational' Migaš votes against PM

When the two largest opposition parties the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the Slovak National Party (SNS) called an April 13 parliamentary vote of non-confidence against Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda, it appeared to be just another round of opposition tactics. After all, the vote against Dzurinda was the seventh vote of non-confidence initiated against a ruling member of the government since the beginning of last year, none of which had yet to result in a dismissal.But after HZDS Member of Parliament Alojz Engliš addressed Dzurinda during the parliamentary discussions preceding the vote by saying, "You, Mr. Prime Minister, are nothing more than a gypsy," it soon became clear that this would not be a normal day in Parliament.

This Week

Bitter pill to swallow: Government must assure shareholder rights

It's a bitter pill to swallow - standing by a basic principle and sacrificing an important political and economic goal. Mikuláš Dzurinda's government now faces that dilemma, and it's still unclear whether it can stomach the bitter pill of supporting minority shareholder rights.A deal struck with U.S Steel to save the ailing steel manufacturing monolith VSŽ has become mired in uncertainty as negotiators are barraged with accusations of riding roughshod over the rights and wishes of minority shareholders. The government will have to act quickly if it hopes to lay claim to the title of being a government of clarity and openness.VSŽ was long the target of accusations of asset-stripping and tunnelling. Under the cleptocrat leadership of the Rezeš father and son combination (Alexander and Július), the company was driven into the ground and was only recently bailed out by the extended and seemingly benevolent hand of U.S. Steel.

Letters to the editor

Skinheads should better represent their countryCriminals must be fought at the topSpectacular Slovakia web-site appreciated

New Internet Cafés hoping for a brighter financial future

Situated alongside the Austrian Institute on one of the city centre's narrowest streets (Baštová), Cafe OI Internet is the newest of four Internet cafes which have opened up in Bratislava since the beginning of the year.The increase in Internet cafes, however, does not necessarily mean that they are certain to be a burgeoning success. Last year the story in Bratislava was a doleful one - cafes were making no profit and the future promised little change. Nearly every Cafe in the city was launched with public funds, including the Austrian Institute's Internet cafe. Such organisations continue to cover the costs of what is the highest expense in maintaining the business - the rent.In the face of these expenses, however, the cafes have opened to fulfil what Michaela Burgstaller, the official at the Austrian Institute responsible for the cafe's daily management, explained was a high demand from students for easy Internet access.

New mobile-phone technology to connect users to Internet

Just when Slovaks were starting to get comfortable with the idea of computers and the Internet, a new piece of technology which is cheaper, handier, and more revolutionary in its possibilities is set to spring onto the market.Representatives from the Finnish telecom giant Nokia say that WAP, or Wireless Application Protocol (a new technology which allows specially-equipped mobile phones to access modified websites) will rapidly surpass the use of Internet access by computers.Currently, WAP accounts for 7% of mobile phone turnover in countries where the service is available. In three years, Nokia predicts there will be 600 million mobile phones globally compared to only 400 million PC's. As mobile-phone market penetration increases, the firm predicts, so too should WAP usage.

Review: Jazz Café: Ostentatious decor fails to detract from café's lively feel

Bratislava is no New Orleans when it comes to jazz. The scene is sluggish at best with only a handful of bands to choose from. Most of the loyalists hop indifferently between gigs, booking social functions and playing on specially reserved 'jazz nights' at venues normally serving as dance clubs. The Jazz Cafe is different, serving as the only club in town where jazz musicians and their followers can enjoy a real jazz night out on the town.Perhaps it's this singularity that leads to the club's excessive decor, apparently to celebrate being the only 'jazz club' in town. Descending the stairs, one is beset by a barrage of photos competing for space on the walls. These nostalgic snapshots revere some of the jazz greats, none of which have likely entered the club. Add to this a score of records glued to the brick interior, and visitors may think they've entered a theme restaurant.

Putting Bratislava on the map

For 10 years, the city of Bratislava has been acting as if international real estate trade was not its concern. Consequently, it lost real contact with prices for real estate resulting in a desperate lack of Western-style retail, office, and residential real estate market, as well as central parking systems management.This was underscored by far from standard incentives for any foreign direct investment influx under the previous central administration [the government under Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar]. Only recently, the 11th MIPIM International Real Estate Fair in Cannes finally saw Bratislava as one of its participants. It was the beginning of the acquisition process for the SNP Square development project.The MIPIM International Real Estate Fair on the French Riviera is a Formula One Grand Prix in the world of real estate. Founded in 1990, it has become the largest professional event presenting the most significant projects, trends and strategies of the real estate business.

Dub artists: The desire to make new 'Friends'

They may look and act the same, but there's something a bit strange about the voices of those famed English-language actors and actress on the screens of Slovak televisions. For who would have thought that little Rudy Huxtable could speak Slovak... or Urkel for that matter?It was after the fall of communism in 1989 that English-language television productions began swamping Eastern bloc airwaves. The assortment of western situation comedies, mini-series, and movies now regularly viewed from the comfort of one's living room are the result of hours of behind-the-scenes work, where actors and translators utilise their talent and love for the art to present the foreign productions in the Slovak audience's native tongue.

News Briefs

CPJ concerned with case against accused Zmena EditorMiners ask government to reduce unemploymentSlovak culture figures injured in car crash