Remisova: Minister Takac Planning Drastic Increase in Water Fees for Farmers

Bratislava, 10 September (TASR) - Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) wants to increase water fees for farmers drastically and is continuing preparations for a deal with Arab sheikhs, said opposition MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) on Thursday. It's outrageous that Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and minister Takac are lying to the people of Slovakia while preparing, behind their backs, the hand-over of irrigation systems to Arab sheikhs and an increase in water fees, said Remisova. "We've discovered that Richard Takac signed a contract for consulting services worth almost €130,000, the purpose of which is to drastically increase water fees for farmers and lay the groundwork for an influx of investors from the United Arab Emirates, whom Robert Fico keeps raving about. Increased water fees for irrigation will push already high food prices even higher," she stated, adding that a petition against silent privatisation has already been signed by more than 10,000 people. She pointed to an alleged contract between Takac's ministry and a company called Montward, which is to prepare an analysis for the use of irrigation systems for almost €130,000. "It says in black and white in the contract that the feasibility of projects in the form of public-private partnerships [PPP projects] will be assessed as part of the contract outputs. This means that the government is indeed planning to allow Arab sheikhs into our irrigation systems, exactly as we've been warning right from the start," underlined Remisova. According to her, the analysis results should focus on "ensuring a significant increase in revenues for using hydrotechnical melioration systems in Slovakia", which implies that Takac wants farmers to pay much more for water than they do now. "Profits from our water will go into Arab pockets. This is a silent privatisation of our water, which is vital for farmers," stressed Remisova. She also warned that although Fico and Takac have denied everything and lied by saying that nothing is going to be sold to the sheikhs, their lies have been exposed not only by the newly commissioned analysis, but also by recently published government documents. According to Remisova, at the end of August the government approved specific recommendations regarding the upcoming deals, namely to continue identifying and preparing PPP projects to modernise existing hydrotechnical melioration infrastructure (by the end of March 2027), as well as to cooperate with the United Arab Emirates in the field of water management and water resources. jrg/df