PS: Interior Ministry's Consolidation Jeopardizes Regional Development

Bratislava, 17 July (TASR) - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok’s (Voice-SD) public finance consolidation efforts are jeopardizing regional development, the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party claimed on Thursday. According to PS, the planned local governance reform could have saved over half a billion euros, but instead, the minister is dismantling the department responsible for this agenda. The Interior Ministry denied acting against the government's Manifesto and said it is merely merging two departments to streamline operations. „Several of those dismissed have worked in the field of regional and local governance for over a decade. It is unbelievably amateurish and reckless for ministry leadership not to recognize the serious risks involved in losing such expertise,” said Marek Lackovic, a PS member of the House Public Administration and Regional Development Committee. Progressive Slovakia described the decision as a gamble with valuable human capital. The party warned that the planned Government Council for Public Administration, expected to lead local government reform, will be rendered non-functional. It argued that nearly all expert staff meant to support the council’s legislative work have been let go. In its response to TASR, the Interior Ministry stated that the restructuring is part of a systematic effort to consolidate public finances. It emphasized that the modernization agenda will now be handled by the Department for Support Activities, Coordination, and Modernization of Public Administration, which will also oversee the Government Council’s operations. „The merger of the two departments is aimed at making management more efficient and simplifying administrative and organizational processes,” said ministry spokesperson Matej Neumann. mf