At a joint meeting, members of two parliamentary committees called on the government to initiate criminal and compensation proceedings against the responsible person in the company Slovenski državni gozdovi due to the failure to prosecute in the case of a major theft of wood from 2018.
Urgent joint meeting of the committees of the DZ for agriculture, forestry and food and for finances was held at the request of the deputies SDS-a, who believe that regarding the operation of the company Slovenski državni gozdovi (SiDG) there are a large number of open questions.
They were interested in what had changed since the transfer of the management of SiDG to the Slovenian State Holding (SDH), said the SDS MP on behalf of the proponents Tomaž Lisec. At the same time, he drew attention to anonymous letters about unsustainable conditions in SiDG, among other things, layoffs were said to be taking place. In SDS, therefore, they wanted explanations about why there were layoffs and whether more would follow. Lisca was also interested in what was currently happening with the office building Marof in Kočevje, where SiDG has its headquarters, and subsidiary companies Snowman.
Furthermore, they wanted explanations regarding the events surrounding the large-scale theft of wood from state forests, which took place in 2018. Namely, SiDG, as the injured party and private prosecutor, should withdraw the request for an investigation against the suspects.
Debeljak: We are introducing corporate governance standards
President of the Board of the Slovenian State Holding (SDH) Žiga Debeljak explained that immediately after the amendment to the Act on SDH, which was the basis for the transfer of SiDG under the auspices of the holding, came into force, they started enforcing all the corporate governance mechanisms that they enforce in all the companies they manage. Among other things, they adapted the founding act, at the same time changed the competence composition of the supervisory board and introduced planning mechanisms. They also regularly meet with representatives of the company and SiDG’s supervisory board, and they also participate in the creation of a new business strategy, he said.
Video: Recording of a joint meeting of two committees
Matjašič: The possibility of a positive result was minimal
Chief Director of SiDG Marko Matjašič regarding layoffs, he explained that they are always present in such large companies. According to him, the number of employees alone did not decrease significantly in the last year, on December 31, 2022, SiDG had 378 employees, and on the last day of August this year, 372. There are no major layoffs planned, as there is currently enough work for everyone, he assured.
Regarding SiDG headquarters, Matjašič emphasized that the management was faced with individual relocations because the Marof building, which was purchased in 2021, is simply not suitable for the work of employees. The main problem that arose was the lack of financial resources for the renovation of the office building. “2.5 million euros were planned for the purchase and renovation of the building, while later analyzes showed that the total cost would amount to almost five million euros,” he said.
As for the Snežnik company, Matjašič explained that it has been making losses for many years, and the new management is intensively working on rescuing the company. They also prepared a program that will ensure the company’s long-term survival.
Regarding the big theft from 2018, according to Matjašič’s explanations, there were several arguments for withdrawing the request for an investigation. The main argument was that the prosecutor’s office dropped the criminal charges against the four suspects and no new evidence was subsequently found that would lead to a successful investigation.
“After an agreement with the law firm and with our own legal department, we decided that it is expedient to withdraw the request for an investigation, because the possibility of a positive result is minimal,” explained Matjašič, adding that the case against one suspect is still ongoing.
What the committee members concluded
During the vote, the deputies supported the resolutions proposed by SDS when the meeting was convened. The members of the committees thus called on the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food to entrust the Inspectorate for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with the task of thorough inspection control in the subject region of forest wood assortments.
At the same time, the two committees called on the government to initiate criminal and compensation proceedings against the responsible person of the SiDG company for neglect of duty in connection with the willful neglect of the request for an investigation and waiver of criminal prosecution in the subject criminal case.
The members of the committees request the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to entrust the Labor Inspectorate with the task of thorough supervision of the reorganization of SiDG. At the same time, the committees expect the inspectorate to pay special attention to the process of termination of employment relationships.
The proposed conclusions were supported in the opposition parliamentary groups of the SDS and NSi-yes and in the coalition SD– yeah. As the SD MP explained Predrag Baković, it is right that possible irregularities are discovered and that those responsible are held accountable. Lisec also agreed with this.
The proposed conclusions were also supported by Leftistswhere according to the MP Tatjana Greif for several years, they have been warning that the employees of SiDG are treated badly, and that insufficient action is taken regarding the theft of wood.
Source: Rtvslo
