Hargas: Further Action Needed Regarding Flawed R&D Grant Process

Bratislava, 18 November (TASR) – Another failure in the research and development grant calls issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy, led by Peter Kmec (Voice-SD), was the evaluation process itself, said opposition MP Jan Hargas (Progressive Slovakia) at a press conference on Tuesday. Hargas added that ousting Kmec isn't enough; further measures are required. It was the opposition that highlighted the questionable grant calls last week, after which Kmec resigned. "These decisions were announced somewhere between 24 and 29 October of this year. However, the contracts with expert evaluators were uploaded onto the central register of contracts only on 31 October and became valid on 1 November. That means that the evaluations took place before the evaluators were even contracted. I ask: who actually evaluated those projects?" said Hargas. For this reason, he called on Kmec or his successor to cancel the entire call, arguing that the evaluation process was non-transparent. Hargas also criticised the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy for purchasing new cars during a period of consolidation and cost-cutting. He specified that the office currently owns 15 vehicles, and last week it bought three more cars for almost €175,000. mf/df