SaS Wants Parliamentary Inquiry into State-owned Forestry Company Lesy SR

Banska Bystrica, 9 February (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party wants to initiate a parliamentary inquiry by the House committee for agriculture and the environment into state-owned forestry enterprise Lesy SR, SaS MP Alojz Hlina stated at a press conference in Banska Bystrica on Monday, calling on new company director Boris Gregor to meet the committee members. Hlina stated that Lesy SR has always played and continues to play an extremely important role and is responsible for the condition of Slovakia. "Its primary task isn't to fill wagons with logs as in colonial Africa, but to take care of the character of our country and the wealth entrusted to it," stated Hlina. SaS also criticised the selection of the new Lesy SR management. Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) appointed Boris Gregor as general director in early February. According to Hlina, the state forestry company should be managed by a forester, not a "banker" or "IT specialist." "And so I'm asking whether it's necessary or whether some huge change in software solutions is being prepared at Lesy SR, at a Lesy SR that is unable to take care of what has been entrusted to it," stated Hlina. According to SaS, Lesy SR has become the prey of post-election looting, so the party wants to initiate a parliamentary inquiry by the agricultural committee into the state-owned enterprise. "We've tried more than once or twice to get access to Lesy SR for an inquiry. They've never let us in as MPs," stated Hlina. am/df