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Clean Sweep of Council Members at Slovak Land Fund
Thursday 03 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 3 (TASR) - Parliament on Thursday dismissed six members of the council of the Slovak Land Fund (SPF) who were nominated for the posts by the Government, as well as another six members nominated by Parliament by the governing coalition, TASR learnt on the same day.
The other representatives in the Council who represented the Opposition in the 11-strong Council - Richard Hamerlik for ethnic-Hungarian SMK party and Dagmar Valuchova for KDH party - gave up their posts in the council earlier.
The change in SPF management was due to the scandal surrounding the transfer of land in Velka Lomnica and Stara Lesna (Presov region), where, according to Prime Minister Robert Fico, all those holding responsibility at SPF failed in this instance.
On Wednesday, the Government dismissed SPF general director Miroslav Mihalik (a Smer-SD nominee) and his deputy Adrian Sandorcin (LS-HZDS) from their posts in accordance with a proposal submitted by Agriculture Minister Vladimir Chovan (HZDS). As well, the Cabinet submitted a proposal for the ouster of the six council members proposed by the Government.
The SPF Council, made up of 11 members chosen and dismissed by Parliament, supervises the activities and management of the Fund. Six Council members were appointed by the Government while the other five were selected based on the principle of proportional representation from the parties in Parliament.
Fico on Tuesday asked Chovan to submit the proposal for the dismissal of the SPF management in the wake of a scandal concerning the transfer of land in Velka Lomnica and Stara Lesna (both Presov region) to land restituents.
"I'm convinced that all people in the Slovak Land Fund have failed regardless of their political affiliation to the governing Coalition or opposition parties," said Fico earlier this week.
SME daily informed on Tuesday that the SPF director and his deputy signed a contract in September 2009, due to which restituents from eastern Slovakia have become owners of 1.6 million square meters of land in Velka Lomnica and Stara Lesna. According to the daily, the restituents then sold most of the lucrative land at a bargain price to a company called GVM, which is allegedly close to LS-HZDS chairman Vladimir Meciar. Meciar roundly rejected claims that he was associated with any private company.
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