Thursday's protest by the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia in front of the Government Office in Bratislava. (source: TASR)
On Thursday, the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS)
protested in front of the Government Office in Bratislava. According to dozens of mayors, the government is not helping them deal with inflation and the current energy crisis.
The ZMOS representatives say that the increase in energy prices is already reflected in the daily lives of local residents because it limits or terminates various services that the municipalities normally provide.
Closest to the people
They want the government to start listening to and learning from the practical experience they say they have acquired.
"We remind the government that it was the municipalities that helped Slovakia cope with Covid, natural disasters, and the situation related to the war in Ukraine, and we are ready to continue doing so," ZMOS representatives said during the protest.
"Today's event should therefore be about the fact we are closest to people and thus we can tell you what it is necessary to do in order to solve the current situation."
In addition, the state would not be able to handle these crises without significant help from cities and municipalities, they added.
'Ineffective' partnership
According to ZMOS chairman Branislav Tréger, instead of helping, the state has taken approximately a billion euros out the budgets of local governments. Before the summer, parliament approved a financial aid package devised by Finance Minister Igor Matovič. It was presented as 'anti-inflation', while being designed in such a way that the budgets of municipalities were, in effect, used to partly fund direct payments to families.
Tréger also criticized the state's current approach to municipalities, saying that although there is supposed to be a partnership between both parties, it is not effective. For example, the government is reluctant to take into consideration the impact of various measures on their budgets.
