Simkovicova: Public-service Funds Were Scammed, Our Claims Have Been Confirmed

Bratislava, September 27 (TASR) - The conclusions of an audit carried out by the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) concerning public-service culture funds have confirmed what the current leadership of the Culture Ministry has been claiming since the beginning of its tenure, stated Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) on Friday. "Funds have been scammed, the control system of the ministry under [former culture ministers] Natalia Milanova and Silvia Hroncova fundamentally failed," she stressed. The incumbent minister pointed to NKU's finding that between 2021-2023, the Art Support Fund (FPU) and the Audiovisual Fund (AVF) paid money to members of expert evaluation commissions in violation of the rules. "The ministry under the leadership of Natalia Milanova and Silvia Hroncova also fundamentally erred because it neglected its obligations. It failed to check how effective the allocation of public money and the subsequent performance of the contract were. It also failed to push through its strategic priorities," added Simkovicova. The current minister pointed out that public-service funds received more than €158 million from the state budget to support culture between 2021-2023. "It is therefore alarming that my predecessors weren't interested in how the funds were managed. Nor was the ministry under their leadership interested in carrying out state culture policy via public funds, and so it didn't set any priorities for this area," said Simkovicova. The Supreme Audit Office (NKU) stated on Friday based on its findings that no serious mistakes were made in the process of making decisions on allocating money from public funds to support culture between 2021-2023, but when it came to the funds themselves and the Culture Ministry, the monitoring system for use of the allocated funds for the declared projects failed. The NKU's audit further showed that rules were violated especially when it came to the payment of remuneration and compensation to members of expert commissions at the Art Support Fund and the Audiovisual Fund. "They were financed from funds earmarked for support activities," explained Ivanco, adding that in the audited period, nearly €420,000 was paid to members of expert commissions at FPU and more than €489,00 to those at AVF. am/df