The Supreme Audit Office announced yesterday their report and findings after an audit of one of the projects run by the Ministry of Justice. In connection with the improprieties identified in the report, the Supreme Audit Office filed a series of motions to the attorney general’s office. The opposition interprets this as evidence of a continuing conflict between Marian Banaś, the president of the Supreme Audit Office, and the ruling Law and Justice party. The Supreme Audit Office emphatically denies these allegations.
The Supreme Audit Office focused on an audit of the program of the justice ministry „Work for prisoners”. The Office announced a total of 16 motions to the attorney general office, with half already filed and the rest in the final stages of preparation.
”If someone has any reasonable suspicion that anyone, has a real influence as to the results of the findings of the agents of the Supreme Audit Office they have only one option – it is going to the attorney general. The context of time coincidence or external events coincidence have no merits in this case, because they just could not”- says Marek Bieńkowski, Head of International Security and Social Order.
The person responsible for the inception and implementation of the „Work for prisoners” project was Patryk Jaki, back then the deputy minister of justice and now an MEP, who reacted strongly to the Supreme Audit Office allegations.
”I am flabbergasted with those ridiculous allegations. It is obvious to me the allegations are just a political game. As a result of the great program, the national treasury lost nothing. The prisoners went to work and started to work for themselves. Their families have received alimony, the recurrent crime rate is declining, and state-owned companies earn more. But despite all good results, they see it as still bad. It is major nitpicking . I just do not get it, their reasoning. I simply give up”- says Patryk Jaki, former Deputy minister of Justice.
The opposition links the publication of today’s report with the conflict between the Supreme Audit Office president, Marian Banaś, and his political environment.
”The problem we are talking about today is that we have an internal conflict in the ruling party and someone is breaking the rule of silence. I have already pointed to the irregularities that the Supreme Audit Office presented today, there was no political will today, it is obvious that all of that is happening around Marian Banaś”- says Adam Szłapka, Civic Coalition.
”Firstly, we have to make public the findings of Marian Banaś’s report. Next, we have to bring Marian Banaś in front of the state tribunal and there will be no problem anymore. I do not understand why the Law and Justice party doesn’t want to take such steps…”- says Tomasz Trela, Left Alliance.
Politicians of the Law and Justice have been saying all along that the best solution to the crisis around the president of the Supreme Audit Office would be his resignation. However, nothing indicates that Marin Banaś is going to take advantage of this option.
In the report published today, the Supreme Audit Office indicated 27 cases of awarding contracts in violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Law, for over 115 million zloty and a dozen or so cases of lowering the amount of rent for industrial halls leased. Losses on this account may amount to 37 million zloty.