The billboard campaign of the State Forests was supposed to be forest-related, but it was political. A notification was submitted to the prosecutor's office against the previous authorities of the state organizational unit. The question is about the actual goal and costs of the campaign, but also about the way it is carried out. Material from the “Poland and World” magazine.
The current authorities of the State Forests have accusations against their predecessors – the potential use of billboards for election campaign purposes, as well as inflated purchase costs and mismanagement. – We noticed very intense correspondence, especially in the pre-election period, between producers and contractors, but this correspondence quieted down after the elections – says Witold Koss, director general of the State Forests.
The State Forests are still conducting the audit. The last eight years are under the microscope. Partial conclusions and actions appear. Specifically, another notification to the prosecutor's office about the possibility of committing a crime by seven people.
– I have to clean up these little monsters – says the current head of the forest culture center in Gołuchów, Adam Kozyra, whose predecessor coordinated and commissioned the activities of the forest billboard campaign. – I have inventoried 365 billboards throughout Poland. Now I will count the billboards that are located in the warehouses of ZBD “Bieszczady” – says Adam Kozyra.
The billboard campaign was supposed to be forest-based, but it was politicalTVN24
The audit allowed for the preparation of a notification to the prosecutor's office
The initial investment price was over PLN 60 million for two thousand billboards – and so the order came from The State Forests went to the cultural center in Gołuchów, which commissioned the work to the “Bieszczady” plant, which awarded orders to external companies. – It can be assumed that the work was paid twice for the same activity. To this day, we have not been settled – says Adam Kozyra.
The then head of the State Forests openly sympathized with the politicians of the ruling party, and specifically with Sovereign Poland, which also appears in the audit of the current State Forests.
“The audit allowed us to formulate a notification to the prosecutor's office against specific people, including members of the Sovereign Poland party,” emphasizes Witold Koss.
Questions about responsibility for wasting several dozen million zlotys
Politicians of Sovereign Poland, when asked about the matter, answer briefly: “Let them decide.” – Zbigniew Ziobro and his buddies knew that they had to take over institutions, they had to take over funds, they had to take over forests just to make money for their own people and to build the power of their party – says Krzysztof Śmiszek from the New Left.
According to TVN24 journalist Olga Orzechowska, who has been following the case from the beginning, despite the ongoing audit, there are still many questions. – Who is responsible for wasting several dozen million zlotys? The question is, what will we do now with these billboards and what about the claims of subcontractors who say that they have not been paid several million? – wonders.
Unofficially, it is known that the State Forests simply want to sell unused billboards.