NIK report on TVP claims zl. 48 million was wasted by not following the law

A report on public television by the Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK), states that TVP wasted around zl. 48 million by not complying with the procedures of the law on public tenders. Money received by TVP was split into two main accounts. Income from subscriptions were treated as public funds and earmarked for salaries, while income from advertising, described as commercial funds, were spent in ways not in accordance with the law on public tenders. NIK says that TVP unfairly arranged tenders, citing as an example a tender given to an IT system supplier worth $5 million. SAP Polska won a tender despite the fact that its offer was more expensive than one of its competitors. " This division of TVP income was artificial and did not relieve TVP from the obligation of complying with the law on public te nders," says Danuta Gajdus from NIK. " These activities were illegal, and TVP has been familiar with our critical stand since 1998," she added. The report also pointed out that mass lay-offs in public television affected mainly journalists, while at the same time TVP was taking on more office staff. Despite the reductions, TVP exceeded its planned budget by zl. 128 million in 2000. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) A.Z.