Mining sector's zł. 26 billion in liabilities may soon be written off

If the Bill were passed, zł.18 billion would be written off. Under the Bill, the liabilities to be written off will include those that have accumulated to August 30, 2003. "The real date for the Bill to come into force, will be the end of October," announced Janusz Siemieniec, the president of restructuring company Spółka Restrukturyzacji Kopalni. According to Deputy Economy and Labor Minister, Jacek Piechota, it will be the last help mines will have that will be obtained at the taxpayers' expense. "What we need to do is to adjust the mining capacities to the real needs. The least profitable mines will have to be closed down. Nevertheless, there are 138,000 people working in the mining sector and we are not, therefore, in a position to close all of them," announced Piechota in an interview given yesterday to Polish Radio. (Puls Biznesu, p. 5) A.Z.