Transport minister's dismissal calls after EU road funding freeze
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
31.01.2013 09:25
A Polish opposition party has called for a vote of no confidence in the transport minister after it was announced that EU funds for road-building would be suspended amid allegations of price-fixing.
Transport Minister Slawomir Nowak: photo - PAP/ Leszek Szymanski
“When it comes to such drastic actions by the European Commission in relation to the government that as much as 3.5 billion zloty (837.7 million euro) for road-building is blocked, causing very serious consequences... this means that the government is to be held responsible,” said leader of conservative party Solidarity Poland Zbigniew Ziobro, as cited by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Ziobro added that “we hope that there will be solidarity [against Transport Minister Slawomir Nowak], in spite of significant political differences between the parties concerned.”
Both the conservative Law and Justice party and the Democratic Left Alliance have already called for the dismissal of Lech Witecki, head of Poland's General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), the state body which manages contracts for road-building.
One of the directors of GDDKiA is among the eleven people that Polish prosecutors have charged with attempting to create a cartel.
“The head of this institution should resign,” said MP Mariusz Blaszczak, chairman of Law and Justice's political club.
The defendants also include ten former and current executives of large construction companies.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Left Alliance has stressed that it pointed out last year that GDDKiA was not being subjected to sufficient checks.
Nevertheless, Poland's Minister of Regional Development Elzbieta Bienkowska described the European Commission's stance as “peculiar” yesterday.
“The Polish system of selecting and contractors is running efficiently,” she said in an interview with Polish Radio.
“Poland is the aggrieved party in this matter, as it was Polish law enforcement agencies that detected that perhaps there was some price-fixing between contractors,” she added.
The three projects connected with the alleged cartel include two sections of the S8 express road, a route that links central and north-eastern Poland. The third investment under suspicion is the construction of the A4 motorway between Radymno and Korczowa. (nh)