Warsaw (Puls Biznesu) – The Supreme Chamber of Control (NIK) says that it is not so easy to change privatized companies into state-owned entities again despite the fact that there were many mistakes in the privatization.
Investors who took part in the privatization of the Polish companies should worry. According to what two deputy PMs have said recently, the reprivatization is close. On Monday, Roman Giertych, the leader of LPR Christian-rightist party, presented a bill to cancel privatizations where NIK found some mistakes. Andrzej Lepper, the head of Samoobrona, that LPR’s bill is just an element of election campaign but he supports it. Roman Giertych said yesterday that he would talk about it with PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski. He mentioned the privatization of PHS steel plant which was bought by giant Mittal Steel. NIK is ending its job concerning with the firm, while Andrzej Szarawarski, the former deputy minister of economy and of the treasure will face accusations. NIK found many mistakes in the privatization of Stoen energy company bought in 2002 by German RWE for PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 384m). The chamber said that despite a considerable income, the transaction may be negative for the economy and it endangers Poland’s energy security.
However, NIK doubts whether this is enough to cancel privatization.
“The decision belongs to the politicians but it is not that easy, which is proved in PZU case. The only way goes through the court, first one must prove that not only government officials but also the investor broke the law”, Jazek Jezierski, NIK deputy CEO said.
NIK stressed that only in the privatization of Polmos Lancut the chamber found reasons to propose a cancellation of the privatization.
(PLN 1 = EUR 0.256)