BRATISLAVA, May 23, (WEBNOVINY) — The Slovak Parliament should elect Zita Taborska to head the Public Procurement Office (UVO), based on a Cabinet decision from Wednesday. According to Prime Minister Robert Fico, they did not want to give the impression that they want to fill the position with their own person and so they chose a candidate from the contest for this post organized by the previous government of Iveta Radicova. „I cannot imagine a stronger opposition candidate,“ Fico said on Wednesday. He recalled that in the past, the government of Iveta Radicova refused to appoint an opposition SMER-SD candidate Jan Valko, and at that time all parties in government welcomed the decision to choose the UVO head in a job contest. „We are doing nothing else but suggesting that Parliament elects a person as UVO head who was chosen by the government of Iveta Radicova,“ Fico said. Parliament is expected elect the nominee at its next session in June.
Fico said he expects Taborska to restart the office and renew its credibility. In addition, alongside the Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, she should prepare good draft bill on public procurement. „It’s a procedure that has recently completely slipped out of our hands,“ said regarding issues around public procurement, as reported by self-governments associated in ZMOS.
Taborska applied for the post already last summer in the first round of competition among 26 candidates. She made it to a shortlist of best three candidates, along with Peter Kubovic and Michal Matas. After losing a confidence vote in Parliament, the government of Iveta Radicova halted the contest. Taborska served at a senior aide post at UVO from 2000 to 2004.
Prime Minister Fico said he repeatedly tried to find out whether there is an agreement between KDH that should have nominated a candidate for the UVO post, and employers and ZMOS, on whose approval he conditioned acceptance of the nomination. He received a repeated requirement to postpone the deadline for a decision on
new UVO chief. „So obviously there was no agreement, but we cannot wait any longer, until the opposition will be able to reach such agreement,“ said Fico, explaining the Cabinet’s UVO nomination.
SITA