Pavol Frešo and Lucia Žitňanská of the opposition SDKÚ-DS party submitted a draft revision of the law on land arrangements to parliament on January 11.
The draft stipulates that the Slovak Land Fund (SPF) be required to publish contracts on the basis of which SPF transferred ownership rights to restituted land plots. The revision should also outline that the SPF must disclose lease agreements on the basis of which the SPF rents lots.
Frešo explained that they were responding in this draft to the situation that has existed at the SPF for a long time. He and Žitňanská assume that cronyism and non-transparent handling of SPF assets can be most often seen in the signing of these two types of contracts. According to Frešo, the government is not able to make specific moves in reaction to the scandals at the SPF, despite its promises and despite the fact that motions were filed in the case of land plots in villages under the High Tatras.
He pointed out that the same people who worked at the SPF before the scandals surfaced have remained in their posts. Moreover, he is afraid that these people may play an important role in continuing to sell the land plots.
Frešo and Žitňanská suggest that contracts signed under this government be disclosed within one month, while the remaining contracts be disclosed six months after the revision takes effect. By publishing such information, citizens would be able to find out to whom the land plots are rented and to whom they were transferred, the MPs said. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
