Opposition Reacts to PG Zilinka's Lawsuits, Again Criticising Ambulance Tender

Bratislava, 9 January (TASR) - Opposition parties responded on Friday to Prosecutor-General (PG) Maros Zilinka's announcement that he'll file administrative lawsuits in connection with the ambulance service tender, once again criticising the actions of the Health Ministry. Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) described the tender as a scandal and called on Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) to accept political responsibility. The Christian Democrats (KDH) claimed that the lawsuits confirm serious doubts about whether the ministry's actions were lawful. The 'Slovakia' party spoke of clientelism and warned of possible financial consequences for the state. "Sasko pretended the whole time that everything was fine. It wasn't. He scrapped the tender, but apparently in violation of the law. Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka is set to file 32 administrative lawsuits against the Health Ministry for a series of illegal actions and violations of the rights of the tender participants. The Administrative Court in Bratislava will decide. Ambulances aren't a business for political sponsors. After this fiasco, the minister should accept personal political responsibility and resign," said SaS MP Tomas Szalay. According to MP Frantisek Majersky (KDH), the prosecutor-general's actions confirm serious doubts about whether the health minister's actions were lawful. "This raises the fundamental question of who will bear responsibility for these decisions. Despite repeated warnings, the minister continued to engage in actions that run contrary to the law and have caused unprecedented chaos in the emergency medical services system. I've never experienced such a situation in more than 21 years of working in the health-care sector," he noted. MP and ex-health minister Marek Krajci ('Slovakia' party) spoke of "amateurism" and "clientelism" in the management of the ambulance service tender. "The efforts of Voice representatives to arrange business deals with ambulance services for pre-selected companies close to his party and the subsequent illegal cancellation of the tender may result in the payment of millions in compensation to these companies, including lost profits. We would just like to point out that almost a year after this huge scandal Minister Sasko still hasn't presented a new method for selecting ambulance operators," he warned. Health Minister Sasko didn't respond to PG Zilinka's protests regarding the ambulance services tender. As he failed to remedy a serious breach of the law, Zilinka intends to file administrative lawsuits with the Administrative Court in Bratislava. The prosecutor-general provided this information on a social network. Sasko maintains that the ministry acted correctly and is ready to defend its decision concerning the cancellation of the tender in court. In an end-of-year interview for TASR, he emphasised that the state hasn't incurred any financial damage and that the ministry acted with the aim of protecting public funds. am/df