NIK, led by Marian Banaś (until recently judged for its honor and faith by the then opposition and now the ruling coalition), shows once again that its actions are politically motivated. This time she took on an investment that was a thorn in Russia’s side and which was mocked in every possible way by current Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his entourage. NIK sent notifications to the public prosecutor’s office and the spokesperson for the public finance discipline. This is the result of an inspection at the Maritime Office in Gdynia and the Ministry of Infrastructure after the construction of a ditch through the Vistula Spit.
The Supreme Audit Office (NIK) announced on its website that as a result of the inspection carried out at the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Maritime Office in Gdynia after the construction of the waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Bay of Gdańsk , two reports to the Public Prosecution Service about the possibility of committing a crime involving abuse of power, and one report to the spokesperson for the public finance discipline regarding expenditure from public funds without authorization.
This is a report of the Supreme Court of Audit, published in… November 2023. It is available on the website of the Supreme Court of Audit under registration number: D/22/506.
READ ALSO: ONLY WITH US. Gróbarczyk on the Supreme Court of Auditors’ report on the excavation of the Vistula Spit: it is Banaś’s vendetta. He promised to implement Tusk policies that would attack the government
““Breach of the principles of reliability, legality, economy and expediency”
During the audit, the Supreme Court found, among other things, that until the program was updated in 2020, the Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia had entered into commitments to finance its implementation, exceeding the total program budget by PLN 157.7 million, and used the program budget to spend on objectives that did not benefit its implementation, and carried out a significant part of the audited investment tasks contrary to the principles of reliability, legality, economy and expediency.
It was also indicated that the Minister is responsible for maritime economy in the draft resolution on the multi-annual program entitled “Construction of a waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Bay of Gdańsk” did not realistically determine the necessary material and financial scale of the investment . Moreover, during the work in 2019 and 2020 on the amendment of the 2016 Council of Ministers resolution, he did not inform the Council of Ministers that the value of the investment would increase by more than 100%. and therefore it lost its economic justification.
The announcement stated that the Minister, while supervising the activities of the Director of the Maritime Bureau in Gdynia, did not intervene to bring the activities of the Director of the Bureau into compliance with the provisions of applicable law, but consciously accepted and justified such actions. with the rationality of the procedure, and even misled the Director of the Office.
The Supreme Court accuses the then Minister of Infrastructure of “failing to realistically determine the necessary material and financial scope of the investment”.
Investigation by the Gdańsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Following the reports submitted, an investigation was launched in one case, conducted by the Gdańsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, and the competent spokesperson for public finance discipline submitted a request for punishment to the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Dispute Committee in cases of violation of discipline in the field of public finances by the minister responsible for public administration.
This is evident from the report of the Supreme Court of Audit, which was published in November last year. The planning and implementation of the construction of a waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Bay of Gdańsk showed that the value of the program was originally 880 million PLN and by the end of the inspection (end of April this year) had increased by 125%, reaching almost PLN 2 billion.
In its report, the Supreme Court indicated that the Vistula Spit excavation program “did not have any chance, even at the planning stage, of achieving the main investment objective of ensuring security and increasing prosperity in the region within the planned time.” reaches.”
Opening of the navigation channel
The shipping channel, which is part of the waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with Gdańsk Bay, was opened on September 17, 2023. Thanks to the cutting of the Vistula Spit, Poland gained a passage from the lagoon to the Baltic Sea, independently of each other. of Russia. The PiS government subsequently indicated that the trench would increase the economic attractiveness of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and in particular Elbląg and the port in this city, as well as other ports of the Vistula Lagoon.
The total length of the waterway from the Bay of Gdańsk via the Vistula Lagoon to Elbląg is almost 23 km, including the passage through the Vistula Lagoon itself is just over 10 km, on the Elbląg River – also more than 10 km; the remaining approximately 2.5 km is a section consisting of a lock, an outer harbor and a parking lot. The canal and the entire waterway will ultimately be 5 meters deep.
It is clear that the President of the Supreme Court of Auditors, Marian Banaś, although attacked a few years ago by politicians who form the current government team, today plays a major role in the December 13 coalition’s spectacle of political revenge. It is a good thing that the Law and Justice government has managed to open the shipping channel, otherwise under the current conditions we would see our passage to the Baltic Sea, independent of Russia, just like the CPK or the nuclear power plant – as the tip of our own nose… And it’s only a shame for Poland!
READ ALSO:
-Another Tusk purge! Captain Wiesław Piotrzkowski dismissed from the post of Director of the Maritime Bureau. Is this for digging the Spit, which the PO didn’t want?
-Canal through the Vistula Spit like the Suez Canal? The British Daily Express praises the PiS government’s investment: it is a symbol of Poland’s determination
aja/PAP, nik.gov.pl
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.