Chamber okays audit of state-run businesses

Prague, Dec 7 (CTK) - The Chamber of Deputies Friday passed a bill that authorises the Czech Supreme Audit Office (NKU) to check the financial management of companies whose majority owner is the state, except for joint-stock companies whose shares are publicly traded, such as the CEZ majority power utility.

The bill is related to a constitutional amendment that the Chamber passed in July.

Both the bill and the constitutional amendment are yet to be discussed by the Senate, which is dominated by the left-wing opposition.

If these two bills take effect, the NKU will have the right to check regional and municipal offices and public corporations, too. In the case of the regional and local authorities, the NKU will only be able to examine the financial management from the legal, not economic viewpoint.

At present, the NKU is allowed to check only the financial management of state property and the fulfilment of the state budget.

The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) of Prime Minister Petr Necas was against the NKU being able to check state-run companies at first, but a compromise has been reached in the government coalition.

The bill was supported also by opposition MP Roman Sklenak (Social Democrats, CSSD) Friday.

It also gives the NKU the power to check health insurance companies, public research institutes, voluntary associations of towns and villages, public universities, the Czech Television (CT), the Czech Radio (CRo), the Czech Press Agency (CTK) and the Czech National Bank (CNB).