- Important PiS politicians may be anxiously awaiting the results of the inspection. For the ruling party, the construction of a gigantic ferry for the Polish Baltic Shipping was an apple of the eye for a long time
- After three years, the ferry did not leave not only the slipway in the shipyard, but even the drawing board. There is no design according to which it would be constructed. It was also absent in 2017, when the project was officially inaugurated
- The audit of the Supreme Audit Office was planned under President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, but Marian Banaś will sign the final report. It is all the more important as he is in conflict with the ruling party
Home straight control
Opposition politicians repeatedly called for control of the “Batory” program (the name was taken from the name of the ocean liner that sailed from the Tri-City to the USA and Canada in the Polish People’s Republic).
For the first time, a group of MPs from the Civic Platform asked the Supreme Audit Office for this at the end of 2017. It was then that they received a reply that it was too early for the controllers’ actions.
The subject returned from time to time at meetings of the Seym’s maritime economy committee. Two months ago, KO parliamentarians sent another motion to the Supreme Chamber of Control. They demanded that the activities of the Morska Stocznia Remontowa “Gryfia”, the Polish Baltic Shipping Company and the Ministry of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation be screened.
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Letter from the President of the Supreme Audit Office to the KO MP Arkadiusz Marchewka
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Today, Arkadiusz Marchewka received an answer from the Supreme Audit Office. The letter made available to Onet by the Szczecin member of the Civic Coalition shows that the inspection began last year. as part of checking the implementation of “selected flagship projects of the Strategy for Responsible Development”.
According to the president of the Supreme Audit Office, Marian Banaś, “control activities in all three units have already been completed and the procedure for examining objections to post-control statements is underway”.
The head of the Supreme Audit Office also announced that the report is to be released this fall.
Important PiS politicians may be anxiously awaiting the results of the inspection. For the ruling party, the construction of a giant ferry for the Polish Baltic Shipping she was the apple of my eye for a long time.
It was, because it seems that the farther from the famous ceremony of laying the keel under a 200-meter ship, the less enthusiasm for this project becomes.
Mirage
On June 23, 2017 the then Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki with a decorative hammer he hammered the rivet into the keel (bottom element of the ship) under the great ferry for Polish Baltic Shipping.
– We came here to give hope for the development of Szczecin Shipyard, to give specific orders, to create demand for ships and ships to be built here. This is a key part of the Polish economy reindustrialisation strategy for us, argued Morawiecki.
He was accompanied by Maritime Economy Minister Marek Gróbarczyk and the West Pomeranian PiS baron, Joachim Brudziński, one of the party’s most important politicians.
– I am standing in front of you as a representative of the party which has announced that shipbuilding will return to Szczecin. I would like to thank the absent Prime Minister, Jarosław Kaczyński, because without his determination and will, this decision would not have been made – said Brudziński.
Letters written especially for the occasion were also read from President Andrzej Duda and the then boss government of Beata Szydło.
The ropax (passenger and car) ferry built in Szczecin was to go to the Swedish Ystad. The success of the idea was also supposed to be a blow to the Civic Platform, during which – according to politicians from Law and Justice – the shipbuilding industry in Poland collapsed.
Officials came under the keel with a specific schedule under his arm: construction was to begin in 2018. A year later, the ferry was to be launched. The shipowner, i.e. Polska Żegluga Bałtycka, was to receive it in 2020.
Change of plans
After three years, the ferry did not leave not only the slipway in the shipyard, but even the drawing board. There is no design according to which it would be constructed. He was also absent in 2017, when the keel was laid.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs postponed the completion date of construction every few months. Today, the ministry is no longer able to specify the end date of the struggle with the ferry. “The program is still running, although it has a delay as we have already informed about. In addition, the situation on the shipbuilding and freight market caused by the global pandemic made work difficult in recent months, ”we read in the response of the Ministry of Maritime Economy to Onet’s questions in June.
– There was supposed to be a huge ferry, and there is a huge scam – Arkadiusz Marchewka tells Onet. And he adds: – Since the President of the Supreme Audit Office in his letter indicates that the objections raised to post-audit statements are considered, it may mean that the audit results are critical for those responsible for these activities
The audit of the Supreme Audit Office was planned under President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, but Marian Banaś will sign the final report. It is all the more important as he is in conflict with the ruling party.
We wanted to talk about the activities of the controllers. A spokesman for the ministry of maritime affairs promised to establish the details. We are still waiting for contact. The person responsible for contact with the media in Polska Żegluga Bałtycka was absent today. Our questions were answered by Morska Stocznia Remontowa “Gryfia”. The company … referred us to the Supreme Audit Office.
– We cannot talk about the details of the control at the moment because it is not finished all the time. So there is a secret – tells Onet Anna Matusiak-Rześniowiecka, who heads the press department of the NIK.
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