Chomutov town hall worsens Romanies' debts - Czech minister

Due to the mismanaged privatisation of the housing stock, some 90 percent of the owed rent cannot be recovered, Kocab said.

A number of people are threatened with prostitution and individual households are "devastatingly" threatened by crime committed by about four local clans that have divided the town among themselves, the report said.

The Chomutov town hall does not sufficiently use the opportunities to pay some welfare benefits to the needy people to which they are entitled. This mainly relates to the contributions to livelihood and to housing for socially disadvantaged people, it added.

There is also a serious shortage of field workers who are to help Romanies in Chomutov, the report said.

Kocab said the Chomutov town hall not only exacted the debts from debtors in an ineffectual way, but they were also deprived of substantial amounts of money by distrainers. They collect ten times more for arrears in payment of a few hundreds or thousands of crowns.

The Chomutov town hall said Kocab's report contained false and untrue information. It said it was convinced the report was drafted in order to harm Chomutov's reputation.

"Many of its claims are torn out of context or the author has drawn his own conclusions instead of verifying the real state of affairs," the Chomutov town hall said in its position.

On August 25, the Chomutov Town Hall started seizing the property of people, mainly Romanies, who owed high sums to the town in unpaid fines and fees for municipal services.

The Town Hall stopped using the services of hired distraint officers. Instead, the employees of the Town Hall's economic section, with the police assistance, seize money and movable property from debtors who received social allowances,

According to the Town Hall, Chomutov registers about 4000 debtors owing it over 240 million crowns in rents, fines and other fees.

The distraints are part of the "Life Ring" project in protection of decent people against unadaptable inhabitants, drug-addicts and prostitutes. Apart from distraints, these people face also relocation to mobile Portakabins on the outskirts of the town.

The project has sparked off fierce opposition from Kocab's office as well as some human rights activists.

(USD1 = 17.262 crowns)

Autor: ČTK
www.ctk.cz