PRIVATISATION AUDIT TO BE ON NEXT GOVERNMENT SESSION AGENDA

ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - The auditing of privatisation will be regulated by a set of laws, the law on the auditing of privatisation, and amendments to the state audit law and the law on privatisation. Three bills to that effect should be on the agenda of the government's next session, and will then be forwarded into parliamentary procedure. The government discussed the bill on the auditing of privatisation at a closed session yesterday. The three-bill project has been motioned by the Economy Ministry. A special working group has also been established for consistency. The group convened today, and is coordinated by Deputy Premier Slavko Linic. The auditing of privatisation should assess legislation and its enforcement, and penalise irregularities where possible, Linic told reporters today. Many believe the audit will return them public property, shares, jobs, they have the impression that we can return history and erase events, the deputy premier said, adding however an eraser of this kind did not exist, nor had economy ever known one. According to the bills, the audit would be carried out by a special department of the state audit which would be entitled to perform its task by amendments to the state audit law. The state audit would use parliament's final assessments to put an end to the negative charge created in privatisation over the last decade, Linic said. The Croatian Privatisation Fund would be entitled to control privatisation contracts and the possibility of annulling them. The latter possibility would be envisaged by amendments to the law on privatisation, but in great part this will depend on events which followed privatisation, such as changes in ownership. Many of those whose approach was immoral will not be caught because they renounced ownership in a short period of time, Linic said. The government estimates the audit will be a long process, and does not envisage deadlines for submitting reports or making findings and solutions. According to Linic, there are no untouchables in the process. A separate problem which will surface are cases in which everything was done in line with the law, yet was morally questionable, as in instances when a company was bought, its activity changed or the workers laid off. According to Linic, it will not be possible to penalise such legally performed but immoral operations. We can however take action with the tax policy, by subjecting such earnings to penal tax rates. The state does possess instruments to additionally tax immorally acquired property, he added. It is possible "Vecernji List", Croatia's largest circulation daily, will be the first to undergo auditing. A temporary measure has been initiated in connection with the management of shares and the registration of change of title, Linic said. The measure has been taken due to irregularities in the sale of the daily's shares by the pension fund. Linic said the audit would attempt to learn more about the matter. Asked about the privatisation of Split-based daily "Slobodna Dalmacija", the deputy premier said the case was being solved together with other cases in connection with companies owned by Miroslav Kutle, who is in detention and under investigation. Linic objected to the fact that particular details from investigations in course surfaced in the media. Investigating through the press is not an expert job, and raises the question of whether it helps the public or the criminals, he asserted. (hina) ha jn