On June 10, the government recalled its plenipotentiary for Roma communities, Anina Botošová, and on that morning she handed over her resignation to Prime Minister Robert Fico and Deputy PM Dušan Čaplovič and it was accepted. According to the plenipotentiary, it was Čaplovič who asked her to resign, the SITA newswire reported.
“He called me this morning to hand in a resignation. It is strange for a deputy PM to propose such a thing on the phone to a government plenipotentiary,” Botošová told SITA.
On June 9, Čaplovič had said that he would thoroughly investigate the allegations made by the Union of Roma in Slovakia (ÚRS) concerning grants from Botošová’s office and the impacts on the ÚRS. She claims that lobbyist groups have had a growing influence at the government office and that she would like to distance herself from those tendencies.
The Union of Roma in Slovakia, lead by František Tanka, has accused Botošová of having allocated two grants worth more than € 22,200 to the civic association Kaleidoskop, in which – based on the list of civic associations of the Interior Ministry – Botošová’s address serves as the association’s headquarters.
For that reason the ÚRS asked at a press conference on Tuesday, June 9 for her to resign. Botošová took over the office of plenipotentiary from her predecessor Klára Orgovánová in June 2007. Orgovánová was recalled by the Cabinet of Robert Fico for differing opinions concerning solutions to Roma problems. Before her appointment Botošová worked at the Ministry of Labour, Family, and Social Affairs.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
