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THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Robert Fico has lost another minister. Marian Janušek. He resigned as minister for construction and regional development on April 14 over a controversial €120-million public contract – dubbed the bulletin-board tender – which has already attracted the attention of the European Commission.


Igor Štefanov was promptly installed on April 15 as Janušek’s replacement at the head of ministry. He was a key lieutenant of the former minister – has prompted the opposition to call for his dismissal too.
Janušek, a nominee of the coalition member the Slovak National Party (SNS), sent his letter of resignation on 14April. A few days after Fico had warned him that he would otherwise face dismissal. The following day, President Ivan Gašparovič appointed Janušek’s former right-hand man at the ministry as his replacement.

Igor Štefanov has himself defended the tender and was personally involved in its preparation. His nomination to the ministerial post by the SNS has attracted wide criticism from Slovakia’s political ethic as well as the parliamentary opposition.
Wienk from Aliance fair play said that a man who shares responsibility for the preparation of the flawed tender and the agreement of the ensuing contract had in fact been promoted to the same position from which minister Janušek was withdrawn because of these same failings.
The the bulletin-board tender ,a controversial €120-million public contract, is atrracted also The European commission for regional policy.
The European commissioner for regional policy, Danuta Hübner, arrived in person in Slovakia on March 13 to inquire about the tender. The commission’s interest in the tender –which was for a contract to manage the distribution of European Union funds – means that Janušek’s departure will not mark the end of the saga. There will be audits of the controversial tender.
Once the results of the audits and relevant documents linked to the case are received and analysed, the commission will decide what further steps to take, Abbott said.