The state failed miserably, says Jaromír Čižnár, Prosecutor General

"The state failed miserably. It was supposed to protect farmers, but instead it assisted in their liquidation," said Jaromír Čižnár, Prosecutor General. He condemned Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná (SNS), former head of the state land fund SPF, for ignoring farmers’ problems. He thinks SPF as well as the agricultural payment agency PPA have sufficient mechanisms to prevent problems, but are not employing them.

The mafia and well-connected groups have deprived small farmers, mostly in Eastern Slovakia, of land and farming subsidies. Ľubica Rošková, a former Smer MP, managed to get farming subsidies for a parking lot and airport.

(HN/4)