Prime Minister Iveta Radičová will not act on the still simmering issue of a rental contract for tax office premises in Kosice and said the matter is closed for her, the SITA newswire reported.
“It is a closed topic for me and if for someone it was a scandal, it wasn’t a scandal of this government,” Radičová stated after the cabinet session on September 7, as quoted by SITA, noting that Igor Krnáč, Director General of the Slovakia’s Tax Directorate, was fully responsible for the decision he made. Radičová also called the controversy around the case absurd.
Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš reiterated his opinion that the situation should be blamed on the former government of Robert Fico.
When commenting on Fico’s call for his dismissal and the recall of the prime minister, Mikloš said that this is a manifestation of arrogance on Fico’s part, adding that three important conditions were met in this case: respect of laws, compliance with public interest, and no party cronyism.
Radičová simultaneously emphasized that issues within the Finance Ministry are under the full jurisdiction of Minister Mikloš, who bears corresponding responsibility, and refused to take any political responsibility on herself.
The Tax Directorate decided in August to consummate a contract for rentals of premises for the tax offices in Košice with Nitra Invest, a company owned by Ondrej Ščurka, the SDKÚ district head for Nitra Region. The company was the only bidder in a repeated tender, criticised from the beginning by some SDKU coalition partners as well as by non-governmental organisations as being tailor-made for Nitra Invest.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Jana Liptáková from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
