New shelters and equipment. The government is preparing changes and funds for civil defense

Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of National Defence, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, announced that next year an amendment to the Act on Civil Protection and Civil Defense is planned, thanks to which multi-annual programs related to civil defense, e.g. the construction of shelters, will be implemented.

As the politician emphasized, these are large investments, including those related to the construction of shelters, among others. under hospitals. He mentioned the basements of the Rydygier and Narutowicz hospitals in Kraków, but also the voivodeship office in Tarnów as the locations of such places of refuge. In Miechów, a shelter would be built under the new sports hall planned for construction. – Many of these investments are already precisely located – Kosiniak-Kamysz noted and added that he counts on the activity of local governments in the implementation of multi-annual projects.

– Next year there will be an amendment to the act, which will make it possible for long-term programs to function – he announced.

Summarizing the year since the Parliament adopted the Act on Civil Protection and Civil Defense, Kosiniak-Kamysz assessed that the act “filled the gap left” by the ruling coalition after the change of power. He pointed out that Małopolska is one of the regions that received the most money for civil defense.

The minister emphasized that the support of the Ministry of Defense was crucial for the implementation of the civilian expansion program last year. – Every year, we allocate PLN 5 billion from the Ministry of National Defense budget to build Poland's defense potential in local Poland. PLN 388 million went to Małopolska, of which the most – PLN 350 million – belongs to the local government, Kosiniak-Kamysz pointed out.

As he said, many of these funds go to, among others, for the state and voluntary fire brigade, for the purchase of power generators and water treatment systems, as well as medical equipment, such as ambulances. Okay. PLN 40 million of the funds received went – as he said – to hospitals.

He noted, among other things, that “in the act, the state and volunteer fire brigades have acquired a special status of units that are to not only cooperate with each other, but also be responsible for building the philosophy of the civil defense system.” He thanked local government officials for their work over the last year and said that for the first time in Poland's history, such large amounts of money went to local communities for civil defense.

– In Małopolska, we think in an innovative way and try to keep up to date with real needs, including: our citizens. At least 90 percent of these PLN 388 million were transferred to local governments in the first round, but we decided to add an additional PLN 8 million from this pool that was at the disposal of the provincial administration to the local government pool because the needs of local government officials were so great – said the Voivode of Lesser Poland, Krzysztof Jan Klęczar.

He emphasized that when allocating funds, in addition to the number of inhabitants, the specificity of the region was taken into account. For example, where there is a shortage of drinking water, funds have been allocated to invest in water treatment plants and mobile equipment for transporting drinking water. (PAP)

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