Radu Miruţă, the Minister of Economy, announces that he was fined 15,000 lei by AMEPIP, “per natural person”, after he refused to validate controversial appointments at Avioane Craiova. The official claims that the sanction is unfair and that he will contest it.
The Minister of Economy, Radu Miruţă, announced on Wednesday, December 17, that he was fined 15,000 lei by the Agency for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Performance of Public Enterprises (AMEPIP).
The fine was applied “per natural person”, and the minister claims that the measure lacks logic and legal basis, being the direct consequence of his attempt to impose correct rules in the management of a state company.
“The next stage of absurdity: today I received, per “natural” person, a fine of 15,000 lei because I wanted clean and fair management at a state company. The fine was applied by AMEPIP. Why? They can’t explain clearly, from a legal point of view either. They just have to. In fact, it’s the height of the ridiculous.” wrote Radu Miruţă in a post published on Facebook on Wednesday.
USR Deputy, Minister of Economy and Interim Minister of National Defense, RaduMiruţă states that he will contest the sanction, but emphasizes that he is willing to bear the financial cost if his efforts are not successful.
In his explanations, Radu Miruţă refers to the situation at the Avioane Craiova company, where management has been provided on an interim basis for almost nine years. According to him, the selection procedure launched in December 2016 was never completed, although the legislation imposes clear deadlines in this regard.
“Avioane Craiova has had interim management since 2016, called “from the pen”. In December 2016, a selection procedure was formally launched which, according to the law, had to be completed in 150 days. Almost 9 years have passed and it has not finished.
The law clearly states two things:
– you cannot have an interim for more than 12 months
– you cannot leave the company without management.
But 8 times 12-month intervals had passed”, explains the Minister of Economy.
He claims that, once he reached the leadership of the ministry, he asked for clarifications regarding the procedural blockage, but he did not receive concrete answers.
“The answer was a smile.
The interim had expired. The law required me to name someone. I asked for a point of view from AMEPIP: I was told that “I have nothing to do”.
Analyzing the documents, we found obvious irregularities: the selection procedure did not comply with the law and even bypassed AMEPIP – an institution created precisely to prevent such situations, in order not to be bypassed”. says Miruta.
Under these conditions, the minister says that he officially requested that AMEPIP take over the management selection, as happened in other similar cases.
“For other companies, in identical situations, AMEPIP accepted. For Avioane Craiova – no. Because I refused to turn over controversial appointments and temporarily appointed people of good faith, until the clarification of a flawed selection (as the Control Body found), today I am sanctioned”. says the Minister of Economy.
Radu Miruţă also says that, over the years, extended interims were not sanctioned, but the situation changed when he tried to correct the existing practices.
“The law says that the person in office at the time of the control pays the penalty, 15,000 lei, without a half discount. I’m not sorry. Because, faced with a simple choice – to close my eyes or to assume – I chose to do what is right.
I will contest, obviously, but if the price for doing justice is to bring money from home, I pay it. But Romania will be clean only when we stop sanctioning good intentions and start working, from any position, in the same direction: for people, not for interests“, concluded the Minister of Economy.
