Archive of articles - June 2000

GDP staggered by Q1 results

The Finance Ministry has refused to revise its GDP forecasts for 2000 after disappointing results for the first quarter cast doubt on the government's economic plans for this year.Figures released June 15 showed a 1.5% growth in GDP for the first quarter of the year, way below the predictions of many analysts, far short of the government's own GDP prediction for 2000 of 2.5% - a figure upon which the budget was based. The Statistical Office immediately revised its year-end GDP forecasts to 1.6% after the data were published."I would not overestimate the importance of the first quarter," Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová said after the release of the figures. She added that there were no plans for a revision to her ministry's forecast in light of the data, and that she expected the low domestic demand and household consumption that had been a feature of the Q1 results to recover in the second half of the year.

Review: A certain 'je ne sais quoi'

Ask any vegetarian where they can go for a good meal in Bratislava and the answers are a bit unsure. Some very good Chinese restauarnts provide fare for the less carnivorous, and the capital's numerous Italian restaurants always offer something. In fact, study any menu in the city hard enough and there's ususally something for a vegetarian to tuck into, even if it is merely the ubiquitous fried cheese. But the choice is always limited - a depressing monotony for anyone looking for a meatless culinary experience.So, with the opening of Crepa on Michalská street, something new seemed to be on offer, After all, you could almost bet your house that a French creperie and pancakes joint would have dishes free of meat. Well, that is what one would have thought.

Vital bankruptcy law passes final hurdle

Six months after its original deadline, parliament June 20 approved revisions to the Bankruptcy Law in one of the most important legal changes for the last few years, one which promised to breathe new life into the countryşs corporate and banking sectors.Approval of the legislation, which comes into effect as of August 1 this year, demanded wholesale revisions in 14 laws, including the Commercial Code, Civic Code, Tax and Custom Laws.The revisions were praised by government officials and analysts who heralded them as one of the major achievements of the present government, mainly because they gave extra incentive to foreign direct investment and helped economic transformation. "This legislation opens the door for real corporate sector restructuring," said Juraj Renčko, one of the authors of the revision and an advisor to Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová.

Marathoner Róbert Štefko cages hopes for 2000 Olympics

Nowhere is the gulf between amateur hackers and trained runners so wide as in the marathon event. Millions of hopeful competitors worldwide line up on marathon start lines every year to test their mettle over 42.2 kilometers, but only a fraction of them have or will ever run a single mile in five minutes.So when runners like Slovakia's Róbert Štefko turn in marathon times equivalent to 26 miles in a row at about 5:06 per mile - as he did on March 5, 2000 in qualifying for the Sydney Olympic Games marathon this fall - their claim to 'elite' status is beyond dispute.

Last Word: The fight for the ruined pension system

The Slovak pension system is slowly approaching deficit. With pensions at their current levels, the system's revenues cannot cover its expenditures. The pension deficit will, in the coming five years, amount to more than 50 billion crowns ($1.1 billion).Depsite this figure, we noticed an interesting phenomenon last week - so many people came up with pension increase proposals that the bag containing them split. Politicians from all sides of the spectrum were trying to outdo each other in suggesting a higher pension rise. The proposals, eventually, came in at levels between 7 and 20%.The most surprising proposal came from someone who suggested a higher figure - Peter Magvaši, the Minister for Labour, Social Affairs and Family, who on the one hand should have an eminent interest in how well social welfare instutions function because he is in charge of them, and on the other hand proposed a pension hike that would be one of the most destructive solutions for the social insurance company, Socialna poisťovňa.

Review: Bread and circuses, American style

Societies need circuses and celebrations of brute metaphor. Politics can't always deliver the goods, which is where spectator sports come in. The Romans had gladiators, Europeans have a primitive version of football where arms - the more graceful of human limbs - are barred from play, and Americans have American football.We have baseball and basketball too, but those sports lack the violence and thus the dramatic aura of football. How many people have ever wrecked their spines on the baseball diamond, or suffered chronic concussions from getting hit in the head too often by a leather ball? Furthermore, how many sports compete with God for a day of the week?

Property Investor

For the business community, including lessors of real property as well as lessees, it is of utmost concern that leasing decisions are free from all unnecessary regulation. A lot of money can be gained or lost depending on whether businesses are able to implement business strategies, which involve leasing of non-residential property, in the quickest and most efficient manner possible. For this reason, changes to the archaic system of approvals for non-residential leasing in the Slovak Republic would be a positive step toward instilling investor confidence and attracting new business, especially foreign business. It would be difficult to adequately assess the number of business deals that have been scrapped on the basis of cumbersome regulations such as the approval process for business leasing.

Civil service cuts to speed privatisation and boost budget

Advisors close to Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ivan Mikloš are predicting "a big fight" as a series of public sector reforms aimed at trimming state sector fat go to ministries for intra-governmental comment before a full submission in early July.A recent audit carried out by the Deputy PM's office showed that state administration reforms could save between 2.6 and 3.9 billion Slovak crowns ($60 to $90 million) for the state budget, vital both in keeping the state's finances under control and making state administration more effective."We are trying to free up [the government's] resources, not just to save money but to make the government more efficient. In the long run it will be more cost-effective as well, but at the moment we are trying to attract the very best possible people [to the public sector].

Dual party membership: Just do your jobs, guys

Every time a new monthly parliamentary session is convened, ruling coalition MPs seem to have two things on their mind - passing a few EU-friendly laws, and knotting the shoelaces of their colleagues from other coalition parties.This month, the reformed communist SDĽ party (a habitual coalition prankster) submitted a bill that would forbid membership in more than one party at a time. The law took direct aim at the senior coalition party, the SDK, which is itself a constellation of five 'mother parties', most of whose members hold dual membership in the SDK and their original blocs. The ostensible point of the bill is to force each SDK member to line up under a single party banner, which would go a long way towards clearing up who is who in the government.

Internet as a cost-saving device

Readers may notice a certain theme running through my column - the amazing changes that the Internet is having on today's business. So far I've looked at how the Internet can help companies find new customers and markets, improve customer relationships, collaborate more closely with supply chain partners and analyse their business for strategic advantage. All of these things are focused on driving revenues. But increasing revenues is only half of the story when it comes to profitability and saving money internally is just as important. The Internet can help here too. Here are four sure-fire ways to save money using the Internet.

Small shops wary of new hypermarkets

The June 14 opening of French retail giant Carrefour's Petržalka complex has left local smaller shopkeepers hoping that a law due to be passed in autumn will prevent a wave of similar commercial developments from cutting a swathe through small shops and stores in Bratislava.The 13,500 square metre store - a one billion Slovak crown ($22 million) investment - carries 50,000 different products, offers free parking for 1,400 cars and 400 employees and dwarfs any other department store in Slovakia. Construction has already started on other Petržalka 'hypermarkets' (massive shopping malls) by the Tesco and Jednota chains, as well as other projects such as the Polus Center in Nové mesto, another suburb of Bratislava.

Steps for small business survival

I would like to share with you five key small business management techniques. Much management literature is focused on the operation, monitoring, and improvement of large-scale businesses. However, small businesses exist in far greater numbers and employ much more of the workforce than large businesses. Indeed, many of us got started in the small firms which supply large corporations.RESPECT - Treat your employees with respect and they will respond with loyalty. Remember, your employees are the front line with whom your customers interact in the delivery of your products or services. They're where the "rubber hits the road" as we say, and usually employees are the strongest single determinant of what type of experience your customers have. Treating them with respect shows that you value and trust them, and their natural reaction will be loyalty to you and your business.

Bankruptcy Law: Tough but effective medicine

A few months, a few years too late, but it's finally here. Parliament's passing of Slovakia's latest bankruptcy laws promise something that banks and ministers have been crying out for over the last 18 months - new life in the economy.One of the most brutal legacies of the Vladimír Mečiar regime may now have been put to rest. The dreadful loans given out by banks whose managements had a suspicious tendency to dole out cash on the basis of which political party the debtor supported should be a thing of the past. Banks can now get their money back if a company gets into serious financial trouble. They no longer have to fear getting burned by asset-stripping corporate managers, and can once again lend money with confidence to companies trying to expand or get off the ground.

Top Pick: Irish Folk group The Cassidys hit the Main Square

Popular Irish band The Cassidys, together with Bratislava dance group Petronella, will be putting on a hot show for all who come to the Old Town's Main Square (Hlavné námestie) on Tuesday June 27 at 19:30. Join in traditional Irish dances while listening to famous Irish folk songs such as Whisky in the Jar (which has been covered by the metal band Metallica), the warlike Rising of the Moon, or the violin ballad The Darry Day in their authentic folk versions.The Cassidys, or Na Casaidigh in the original Irish, is a sextet of brothers who come from the harsh, windy Donegal coast in Ireland. Famous not only in their homeland but also worldwide, this will be their third performance in Bratislava. Each member plays an instrument, ranging from guitar, mandolin, violin, flute, and keyboard to the traditional Irish Uileann bagpipes, and also sings a solo ballad, either in their native Gaelic or in English.

Psychiatric patients lack social safety net upon discharge

Well hidden amidst the endless rows of Petržalka's mammoth blocks of flats sits a white concrete complex of one storey buildings. Known to the locals as the 'kindergarten', the site is actually a sanatorium which serves the needs of Bratislava's recovering psychiatric patients.The daily routine unfolds as usual: just past noon, some 35 patients sit at their daily community meeting, undisturbed by the outside world. Then the halls of the sanatorium suddenly fill with patients as the doors of the community hall open for lunch. Some walk in pairs up and down the halls, some stand motionless on the balcony, smoking their cigarettes. They all speak quietly and guardedly among themselves and seem unaffected by the presence of a visitor.

This Week

Ministers slowly repaying illegal bonuses

What ever happened to those illegal bonuses paid out this year - and in years past - to cabinet ministers? The answer is that while current government members are returning the cash - albeit slowly - members of the former Vladimír Mečiar government are taking a more defiant stance.At the beginning of the year 2000, all 15 cabinet ministers and 4 deputy prime ministers were given 'Christmas' bonuses of approximately 102,000 Slovak crowns ($2,318), only to be told by an independent lawyer writing for the weekly newspaper Domino Fórum that they had been illegally granted.Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda immediately released a statement thanking citizens for pointing out the illegality of the bonuses, and promising that the ministers would return the money to state coffers. However, to date only four government officials - Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Kukan, Economy Minister Ľubomír Harach, Defense Minister Pavol Kanis and Education Minister Milan Ftáčnik - have done so in full. Other current government representatives are paying back their bonuses in monthly installments of about 10,000 crowns ($227), said the spokesmen of the various government ministries.

Community Calendar

International Women's Club in BratislavaAustrian EmbassyAmCham Independence Day

Surgery saves ailing President

President Rudolf Schuster underwent surgery early June 19 to heal a perforated large intestine, a procedure that attending doctors from the Interior Ministry called "a life saving measure" to rescue the patient. Schuster, who had been hospitalised last week with a high fever, is expected to remain in hospital for at least two weeks.Schuster's wife Irena reported that the President was "weak" after the procedure, and suffering from "a certain amount of mental confusion" due to the after-effects of anaesthesia. She said she had been "surprised and shocked" by the sudden dramatic decline in her husband's condition, which she and the president's personal physician František Samsely had originally thought was due to something he had eaten.