Danko Expects Ambulance Tender to Be Scrapped, Otherwise Sasko Should Resign

Bratislava, 8 August (TASR) - Junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko expects Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) to announce that the ambulance service tender will be scrapped at a news conference; if not, he is calling on him to resign. "Minister, I strongly urge you to throw in the towel, as if you don't scrap this tender, it's inexplicable, there's no other solution," the SNS chairman has posted on a social network. He pointed to, for example, the statement made by the Public Procurement Office (UVO) that the tender contradicts EU regulations and to the withdrawal of the Penta Hospitals network from the tender earlier on Friday. Danko blames the minister for the high cost of the tender, claiming that ambulance service operators can thus earn profits amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros annually. He also said that not even €10 billion is enough for Sasko to manage the sector. He pointed out that, for example, €4 billion went to the health-care sector in 2018. "Are there better hospitals here? Are there better ambulances here? This is what we expected from you, minister, when you replaced [Zuzana] Dolinkova, that you would be a different kind of minister, one who doesn't serve the interests of oligarchs," stated Danko. Opposition parties earlier in the day filed a proposal for a no-confidence motion in Sasko in Parliament. The parties criticise the tender for being non-transparent, claiming that its winners have been agreed upon in advance. The Health Ministry has declared that the tender is being conducted in a standard manner and fully in accordance with current legislation. Sasko promised to take up a clear position on the tender at a news conference on Friday. Voice-SD leader Matus Sutaj Estok stated that the health minister enjoys his full trust. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has said that if Sasko fails to dispel doubts surrounding the ambulance service tender, he will insist on cancelling it and restarting the competition. The tender concerns the operation of 344 ground ambulance stations and seven air ambulance units. ko/df