BANSKÁ Bystrica regional Governor Marian Kotleba says that the Education Ministry made a mistake when it approved most of the modernisation projects submitted by several schools in the region. He has sent a letter to the Education Minister Dušan Čaplovič as well as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) which he asked to investigate the ministry.
The ministry denies any wrongdoing, the Sme daily reported in its February 14 issue.
Kotleba opted to scrap the regional office’s contribution to several school projects, which were to be predominantly paid for with EU structural funds.
According to the Education Ministry, 31 schools in Banská Bystrica Region were successful with their projects, with 22 of them being administered by the region (and expecting the regional government to contribute to the modernisation projects), 14 of which are to receive financial aid from the EU for the first time. The ministry estimated the overall costs of the projects in the Banská Bystrica region at €5.5 million, while Banská Bystrica Region was supposed to contribute about €270,000.
“The attitudes of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region were formed with the absence of crucial information and knowledge,” ministry spokesman Michal Kaliňák told Sme.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
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