Finance ministry officials get the axe

The minister, who was in charge of the customs and excise taxes, was dismissed at the instigation of Minister Andrzej Raczko. Kwaśniak denied charges that his wife had represented parties in court suing the customs authorities, but the minister did not wait for the results of an investigation into the allegations before asking for his deputy's sacking. He will be replaced by Witold Czyżowicz, an academic lawyer. Wiktor Krzyżanowski, the ministry's spokesman, was also dismissed which is thought to be the result of a 'Fakt' daily advertising campaign, featuring Minister Raczko. (Rzeczpospolita pp. A1-A3) A.N.