Prague, July 25 (CTK) – PM Andrej Babis will mediate negotiations between a part of the clients of the failed H-System developer firm and its bankruptcy administrator after a court verdict ordering the clients to leave their homes, Martin Junek told CTK on behalf the clients’ housing cooperative on Wednesday.
Junek, from the Svatopluk housing cooperative associating about 60 families in Horomerice near Prague, said he and Babis agreed Babis’s role of a mediator on Wednesday.
By ordering the Svatopluk cooperative to vacate “its” flats in eight houses, the Supreme Court (NS) earlier this week complied with the legal action of Josef Monsport, the H-System bankruptcy administrator who said the Svatopluk members, who had completed their houses on their own after H-System’s collapse in 1997, in fact do not own them. Monsport wants to sell them and use the money to compensate H-System’s all damaged clients.
The dwellers refuse to move out, they say they have no money to buy other housing.
Junek said he and Svatopluk’s lawyer met Babis, who also invited Justice Minister Jan Knezinek to the meeting this morning.
He said Svatopluk’s only chance now is to turn to the Constitutional Court (US).
“At the same time, steps must be taken for us to finally reach an agreement with Mr Monsport…It seems that we might sit down at a negotiating table together now,” Junek said.
“I appreciate it very much that Mr Babis offered to mediate our negotiations with Mr Monsport and help us resolve the situation once forever,” Junek said.
Babis told CTK that he and Knezinek have had separate meetings with Svatopluk representatives and Monsport, and were asked by the Svatopluk managers to mediate their talks with Monsport.
Monsport confirmed his readiness to accept such mediation, Babis said, adding that he expects further meetings to take place.
“The prime minister wants to be the mediator, I welcome it,” Monsport told CTK. “I saw mainly the minister [Knezinek] share my arguments on that the given solution is inevitable based on the bankruptcy law. I cannot exempt a small group from the sea of former H-System’s client creditors, donate [flats] to them and explain to the others that no compensation has been left them,” Monsport said.
In the meantime, Labour and Social Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Barbara Hanousek Eckhardova told CTK the state might provide a special one-off subsidy worth 51,150 crowns to the people whom the court ordered to vacate their homes within a one-month deadline.
The subsidy is designated for people in emergency situations they cannot cope with by their own means, such as natural disasters and accidents.
Horomerice Mayor Zdenek Babka said Wednesday he has received an offer by a private owner who is ready to provide housing for a part of the “evicted” clients elsewhere in central Bohemia for a “minimal rent.”
He said the Horomerice Town Hall has no means to help the people.
