The Salrom management has been dismissed, the Minister of Economy announces: “The joke is over”
The management of the Salrom company has been dismissed, the Minister of Economy announced on Tuesday evening, who stated that “in place of piles and combinations, professionals are coming that we have selected for temporary mandates”. The government official accused the former leadership of “turning a blind eye while a salt pan was collapsing” and of “making unnecessary and expensive acquisitions.”
“It took some time, but it happened, no matter how much some wanted to put obstacles in the way. The Salrom management was dismissed. It ended with the carelessness and arrogance of those who believe that the resources of the Romanian state are a personal inheritance! No matter how many tricks those who have gotten used to believing that the state is theirs, that they can do whatever they want in public companies, that they can extort money from them without giving an account – it doesn't work for them anymore!”, he wrote Miruta, in a message published on his Facebook page.
“At Salrom, the mockery is over. The management that turned a blind eye while a salt mine was collapsing, that made unnecessary and expensive purchases, documented in two official reports – has been changed! We managed, together with the minority shareholder, to take this decision by vote. I know you will ask me: why only now? Because it took analysis, negotiations, solid documents. Because, unlike others, I don't play with words, I make sure that things really happen”, the Minister of Economy, Digitization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism also stated.
Who will be part of the new management
Miruță stated that “instead of piles and combinations, there are professionals that I have selected for temporary mandates from the CVs of those who responded to the call to apply on the ministry's website to get involved in state companies or respected specialists in their fields:
an executive with geological exploration experience from the local community;
a financial auditor, ASE graduate, expert in expense control and efficient management;
an entrepreneur from the Romanian Business Leaders community.”
“Two reports – of the Control Body of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Economy – show clearly: public resources were mocked. That ends now. We are going further: in court, to recover the damages and to punish the guilty”, added the government official.
Other clarifications made by Miruta:
- “The former management of Salrom is already sending lawyers, threatening lawsuits. Why? Because they were clearly told: when you represent the state, you not only have benefits, you also have responsibilities. It doesn't intimidate me. The truth always comes out – and in this case, the truth hurts: they were wrong and they will answer.
- The community of Pride is not forgotten. For those affected by the floods, two aid schemes have been put in place:
– One for temporarily closed businesses: 82 applications submitted, 73 admitted, 4.3 million lei approved.
– The second – for compensation and repair costs – is ongoing and we want to expand its scope.“
According to a government announcement on Saturday, the Prime Minister's Control Body completed the checks at the National Salt Company SA (SNS SA or Salrom) and the National Administration “Romanian Waters”, an action started after the flooding of the Salina Praid in May.
According to the report, the two institutions underestimated the risk of flooding the salt pan, and the protective measures implemented were insufficient and temporary, being unsuited for the long-term protection of the salt pan.
The Control Body established, following the checks, that the risk of flooding the underground spaces of the salt pan in Harghita County and affecting the deposit was “underestimated and constantly qualified by SNS SA representatives as not being an imminent danger”.
Salina Praid is managed by the state company Societatea Națională a Sării SA, subordinate to the Ministry of Economy.
The report points out that Salrom had money available to make investments, but did not make them. “The data from the revenue and expenditure budgets related to the 2021-2024 budget years indicate that SNS SA had the investment financing source available and had approved investment expenses significantly above the value of the investments it made,” the report states.
The Prime Minister's Control Body also found that starting from 2006, in accordance with the Plan for the termination of the activity at Salina Praid – old mines, developed by SNS SA and redone in 2014, the waterproofing of the area of the old mines had to be carried out, in order to reduce the volume of water seeping underground, through the execution of works to waterproof the area and reduce the volume of seepage water, works that were not carried out executed up to the flooding of the underground spaces of Salina Praid.
What does the dismissed management claim?
Salrom transmitted, following the conclusions published by the Prime Minister's Control Body after the verifications following the Salina Praid disaster, that in the last three years all the necessary sums have been allocated to protect the deposit, the underground spaces and the equipment used, according to the annual investment programs.
The management of the state company (the one dismissed on Tuesday) said that it considers as “derogatory and unfounded” the statements of the minister Radu Miruţă, who had requested his resignation repeatedly and took it to court.
“The obligation to close the old mines by waterproofing, concreting or other methods rests, unequivocally, on MEDAT by allocating funds from the budget. It seems that the minister is suing himself for the inaction of the ministry he leads”, stated Salrom, in a press release, quoted by News.ro.
Radu Miruţă announced, after the publication of the report on the Praid disaster, that he asked the Salrom management to resign with honor, but they refused. The minister also said that he asked for a meeting, and the management refused, which is why he took it to court.
