MP Valasek Sees Three Basic Problems in Slovak Army's Modernisation

Bratislava, January 5 (TASR) - Opposition MP Tomas Valasek (Progressive Slovakia/PS) sees three basic problems in the Slovak Army's modernisation under the leadership of Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD): the ministry gives out money to other sectors, Kalinak hasn't set his priorities and chooses suppliers and equipment in an unfortunate manner. "Even before he started to modernise, he distributed a huge part of the Defence Ministry's budget to other sectors. I absolutely don't understand why just this ministry should finance things like bridges, hospitals, highways and others, if there are the Transport and Health Ministries to do so," Valasek said in an end-year interview with TASR, dedicated to evaluation of the Defence Ministry's performance. As the minister hasn't set his clear priorities, it is possible that he will manage to modernise a part of the armed forces, but it may not be the most necessary one, stated Valasek. He sees the selection of suppliers and equipment as the third problem of the minister. "Why, for example, quality must take precedence over price in case of transport aircraft, but the price is suddenly more important than quality when it comes to the purchase of attack helicopters," he said. Kalinak thus creates the suspicion that some orders are tailor-made for suppliers and not for soldiers' needs. ko