Praha Sobě: Prague should investigate land transfers due to Džbán

Prague – Prague Sobě will propose at Thursday's meeting of Prague representatives that the control committee of the magistrate investigate the handling of land during the liquidation of state enterprises between 1997 and 2013. The leader of the group, Jan Čižinský, told reporters today that the impetus is the case of the land near the Džbán reservoir, which, according to him, was acquired in an irregular manner by the company Molepo in an auction under the ODS government in 2012. The company should transfer the land back to the city for its appraised value from 2012, he added. The chairwoman of the control committee, Alexandra Udženija, does not oppose the investigation and considers the transfer to the city the best solution, she said. The company Molepo stated that Čižinský is not telling the truth, the auction was conducted correctly, and the company is willing to negotiate with the city.

The area near Džbán was acquired by the company Molepo from the assets of the liquidated state enterprise Prague Sewerage and Watercourses in 2012 for approximately 53 million crowns. It was the only participant in the auction. According to Čižinský, the announcement of the auction did not comply with the usual procedure set out in a memorandum between the Ministry of Finance and the city from 2011, according to which the state was supposed to transfer the land for free or at appraised value to the city.

According to him, the only exception was the land near Džbán, for which the state announced an auction, in which the company Molepo applied as the sole interested party. Čižinský added that the city councilor responsible for property at that time was Udženija and that the current chair of the Civic Democratic Party's parliamentary club, Zdeněk Zajíček, was responsible for transfers at the Ministry of Finance. Additionally, according to him, one of the co-owners of the company Molepo is ODS member Vladimír Schmalz.

The media representative of Molepo, Jakub Splavec, stated in response that the Ministry of Finance had already rejected the possibility of a gratuitous transfer to the city in 2005. "This negative stance was reiterated several times until 2012. The liquidator therefore had no legal option but to sell the land at a public auction. Anyone can apply for that," he stated. Questioning the legitimacy of the auction, according to him, "brings elements of nationalization back to our country, like during the former communist regime."

The company Molepo recently closed the swimming pool, justifying that it is in a state of emergency. The company wants to build residential buildings on part of the land along Evropská, but this requires a change in the land use plan, which the city council rejected, and on Thursday, the representatives will vote on it. They will also address a petition from local residents against the construction. According to its statement, the company is unable to make the necessary investments in the swimming pool without the planned construction. According to Čižinský, the company should return the land to the city at the price it paid for it.

"We must strive for the city to get the land back, and we will also want the control committee to investigate the processes we have described here to see if there were any similar cases during other liquidations of enterprises," Čižinský said. He added that politicians from the ODS who were in office at the time should take action, especially given that a member of their party co-owns the company Molepo. Pursuing the return of the land in court is not likely to succeed. "In this case, a lawsuit makes no sense, because there is no chance," he said.

Udženija stated that she does not oppose the investigation of property transactions during the liquidation of state enterprises. "I am certainly open to investigating how this sale under the liquidator took place," she said. She added that the control committee of the municipal council has already dealt with the petition from local residents and requested further documentation. "I called on the petitioners, and we also called on Mr. Čižinský at the previous meeting of the council to present relevant documents, which he has not done to this day," she said, noting that Čižinský's statements are speculation.

She added that the city has also entered negotiations about a possible transfer of the land to the city, which the owners do not oppose. "If the capital city or the municipal district of Prague 6 could negotiate a purchase with the new owners, that would be the best solution," she said.

Splavec confirmed that the company is willing to negotiate. "All original, and especially artificially induced, concerns regarding interventions in the recreational area or the surrounding nature have been explained and clearly refuted as non-existent. We see room for further negotiation," he stated. He added that the company expects that significant progress will occur only after Thursday's council meeting.