Summary of newsmakers of the previous days – 6.9. 2007

Fruit-growers hire security to guard crop

Fruit-growers from Olomouc region have to hire security guards and security agencies now. This year’s crop is more than another time plundered by thieves. A reason is extraordinary high buy-out prices. Sellers offer as many as three crowns for kilogram of fallen apples. Problems with raids of thieves do not avoid fruit-growers from Králová in Uničov region. “Every day we have cut fences at several places; we have to repair it on and on. There is more thieves this year than in last years”, Veronika Kristová, a spokeswoman of a company Sady Králová, said. A manager of orchards Svatopluk Čuba estimates losses to 150 thousand crowns yearly. “Every fall we have to hire guards. Purchase shops increased prices of apples this year. Evidently, there are not much fruits along roads. Collectors moved in large orchards which are more difficult to be watched”, Čuba thinks.

Nečas wants so that illicit work would be crime

150 – 250 thousands of people can work illegally in the Czech Republic. Not only foreigners are employed illegally but also many Czech citizens who got only minimal wage with bigger untaxed additional payment, so-called in hand. It represents a basic problem for employment economy and policy. The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Petr Nečas (ODS) wants so that illegal employment could become a crime with relatively hard sanctions for firms.

Highway through Suchdol and Posázaví will not exist, Bursík says

The Minister of Environment Martin Bursík wants to change a plan of the Ministry of Transport how to build highways. In an interview for Aktuálně.cz Bursík said that he is especially against the fact so that a part of Prague circuit would lead through Suchdol where projectors plan a high two-storied bridge. The leader of Green Party and a vice-president of government wants also to block other debatable think: he wants so that the highway D3 would lead outside Posázaví.

Tradesmen with wood want billions, they threaten with arbitration

Other arbitration threatens to the Czech Republic. Former owners of the biggest forestry firm in th e CR, the company CE Wood, wants the Czech Republic to pay them approximately two and half billion crowns for damage of their investments. Otherwise they are prepared to appeal to a court with a substantially higher requirement. A German firm InterTrade Im- & Export Beteiligungs which owns CE Wood in 2001 – 2005 officially reckoned the losses caused due to manipulated selective proceedings for forestry works for the state enterprise Lesy of the Czech Republic minimally to 87 million Euros plus interests.