Opposition Criticises Government's Outbreak Measures as Inadequate

Bratislava, March 25 (TASR) - Representatives of the opposition parties on Tuesday lambasted the government over the way it's been addressing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in Slovakia while underlining the gravity of the situation. "Whereas [agriculture] minister [Richard] Takac (Smer-SD) claims that they've done everything right, according to our information they've made mistakes. We don't want to spread panic, we're really calling on minister Takac to come and talk to the [parliamentary] committee [for agriculture] and tell us what kind of measures he's preparing," Progressive Slovakia (PS) vice-chair Ivan Stefunko stated after Takac failed to attend a committee session. The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party warned of potential missteps in the transport of infected animals. If it's confirmed that the animals aren't being transported in hermetically sealed bags, MP Alojz Hlina (SaS) believes that this would constitute an endangerment of public health worthy of a criminal complaint. KDH called on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to take personal responsibility for the efforts to tackle the situation, and it plans to propose financial state support for farmers vis-a-vis disinfection measures as well as forming a permanent crisis team that would involve the participation of farmers. The 'Slovakia' party is urging farmers to take all measures needed to stop the disease from spreading. The opposition parties concurred that the government is failing to take action promptly and effectively enough. They called for the immediate adoption of measures and clear communication with the public. mf/df