The mitigation of OKD’s mines and the related mitigation of social impacts will cost the state coffers CZK 15 billion in the coming years. While the government is thus dealing with the difficult financial situation downstairs, List Reports have found that the state in the coal company is losing millions. And for an activity that is not related to mining at all.
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We are talking about a golf complex in the Karviná region of Lipina, which falls under the property of OKD.
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According to the findings of the List of Reports, the operation of the 18-hole golf complex, which grew up in 2012 in a reclaimed area between the shafts, is problematic. OKD’s latest annual report does not talk about the overall financial balance of the golf course, it only talks about revenues – revenues of 5.4 million crowns. However, according to former OKD boss Michal Heřman, operating costs significantly exceed the area’s sales, making Karviná golf unprofitable.
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“Rent is paid annually for land around 2.5 million crowns. I tried to significantly improve the economic functioning of Golf Resort Lipiny, because it has been in the red for a long time. Every year, OKD pays extra for the operation of between five and ten million crowns, which is, of course, economically completely meaningless and unjustified, “said Heřman, who managed the mining company from last May to January.
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The Ministry of Finance, or rather its company Prisko, which owns OKD, would like to sell the golf resort – in order to relieve the financially exhausted OKD at least a little. But as the News List described, the sale is complicated by the fact that the land under the complex is not owned by the state and must be leased – it belongs to the Asental development group controlled by former coal baron Zdeněk Bakala. Thus, the value of the area for possible sale flies down.
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Man on two chairs
A personnel question mark also hangs over a non-prosperous sports ground. The president of the golf club is Michal Kuča, whose interest is logically that the complex should work and money flow into it. Where from? Those from sponsors and partners cannot be enough, therefore on the part of the owner – OKD. Not to be overlooked is the fact that golf courses are often an environment where influential figures gather informally – whether from a business or political background.
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The problem is that Kuča is also the chairman of the supervisory board of the mining company. In this capacity, he should monitor and control where and how OKD spends its finances.
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This offers a suspicion of a conflict of interest – he manages loss golf and also chairs the OKD control body.
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Kuča did not respond to the question List of Messages, did not answer the messages and ended the call right at the beginning. The editorial staff therefore turned to OKD’s management. However, spokeswoman Naďa Chattová stated that she could not speak on behalf of the head of the Supervisory Board.
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Take the crown
The sale of the Lipiny golf course and the bait in the form of “non-ownership” of land are mentioned in government material of the Ministry of Finance, as the News Report informed in recent days.
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Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (for YES) stated that the state is interested in Bakal’s land.
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“In the current situation, we consider it reasonable for OKD to make every effort to monetize the golf course. Unfortunately, his divided ownership, the unfortunate legacy of Mr. Bakal, does not make it much easier. However, the Ministry has been striving to sell the golf course as a necessary asset from the very beginning, when Prisko joined OKD, “the Minister of Finance told the Report.
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However, OKD’s management does not intend to buy the land under the playground. The reason is that the overall operation of the area will not pay off for the mining company at all.
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“OKD is currently negotiating with the landowner about the possible sale of a golf course in cooperation with the landowner. OKD does not intend to buy land. The company’s current effort is to reduce costs. OKD considers the costs associated with the golf resort to be a burden on OKD, but until the sale is completed, it is necessary to spend them so that the value of the property and the potential purchase price do not decrease, “said OKD spokeswoman Naďa Chattová.
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Former company director Michal Heřman is convinced that the most effective way to interrupt the money supply of public money to Karviná golf is to leave the complex to those interested for a symbolic price.
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“When I took over the leadership of OKD last May, in the approved plan for 2019, the then shareholder of OKD, the company Prisko, agreed to buy land from Asental for several tens of millions of crowns with the aim of completing the entire project. But then, due to the fall in coal prices and the coming crisis, the intention to buy land was abandoned. It was one of the first austerity measures that I initiated in June as part of a comprehensive cost reduction package. In my opinion, it would be most appropriate to leave the entire golf complex to someone interested in the crown, “said Seznam Správám, the recent director of OKD.
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