Szyszko fired over alleged ministry corruption in awarding telecom licenses

Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek has sacked his Telecommunications Minister, Tomasz Szyszko, after the Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK) discovered evidence of alleged "corruption mechanisms" within the ministry. Explaining the reasons for the dismissal, government spokesman Krzysztof Luft told a news conference, "The prime minister decided that minister Szyszko has not properly supervised his ministry." However, Luft stressed that no accusations of any wrongdoing had been levelled against the minister himself. Szyszko was placed on indefinite leave last week, after an initial NIK report alleged the existence of "corruption mechanisms" in the way the ministry awarded licenses to telecom operators. The allegations are believed to center on Jan Luczak, an old friend of Szyszko's whom the minister employed as an adviser for the tender of third generation mobile telephone licenses. The NIK report suggest that some of the negotiations were conducted "unofficially". Economy Minister Janusz Steinhoff has been placed in temporary charge of the Telecommunications Ministry. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 16; Zycie p. 6; Rzeczpospolita, p. A3; Reuters) A.K.