Banska Bystrica Region: Mayors Fed Up with Chaos, Demand Aid from Gov't

Banska Bystrica, August 16 (TASR) - Mayors represented by eight regional associations in the Banska Bystrica region called on the Government to stop dealing only with its own internecine disputes and start extending aid to regions and municipalities that are the largest providers of social services and organisers of schools. At their protest meeting held in Banska Bystrica on Tuesday, the mayors said that the region rejects the instability, chaos and the diverting of attention away from real problems. In their view, the state violates budgetary rules of the municipalities and regions and disrespects powers of their elected representatives. It shirks away from systematic solutions and embraces only populistic decisions that fail to help the people of Slovakia at the end of the day. "We've been warning the Government for a long time that problems are being neglected. The measures approved by the Government along with the growing prices of energies, foods... force us to raise prices, even in retirement homes. The Government is not helping us, it fails even to talk to us, even though all it would take is to sit down with us around a negotiating table as partners. We're not a political organisation, the mayors here are from various political parties," underlined Bozena Kovacova, the mayor of Janova Lehota. In their joint statement, the mayors rejected the state loans to pay for "irresponsible" decisions of the Government and the tax mix. mf