BRATISLAVA, January 11, (WEBNOVINY) — Prime Minister and acting Defense Minister Iveta Radicova would like to find a strategic investor for the military maintenance company VOP Novaky. “We made a decision at the Ministry of Defense to continue with the defense department contracts for VOP Novaky in order to maintain employment and due to the social situation in Novaky until a needed strategic investor for the future is found,” said the prime minister at Wednesday’s press conference.
According to Radicova, the defense department can provide the company with several months’ work. “If we would decide to dispose of all ammunition, it would be work for some three or four months. It is not possible to give [them] only contracts from the Defense Ministry,” she said, adding that it is necessary to continue VOP’s restructuring and to find a strategic investor in order to keep the company operational.
Prime Minister Radicova has decided that the VOP Novaky head of the BoD, Lubomir Repcik as well as members of the firm’s supervisory board will be dismissed. The decision comes after the case regarding VOP controversial loan and lien on its property came to light. The state-run joint stock company borrowed 70,000 euros from the company Sitno Holding of ex-Economy Minister from the era of Mikulas Dzurinda’s first government, Ludovit Cernak to be able to pay out wages.
VOP Novaky has mortgaged a portion of its assets to the benefit of Cernak’s firm. According to their lien contract, Sitno Holding was supposed to be able to sell one of the company’s four production halls and ammunition warehouses in case that it does not get any installment following a call. “The state will lose no property, the deal was closed already on Monday,” said Radicova. She underlined that none of the contracts signed with Sitno Holding were ever valid.
SITA