PiS will file a motion to dismiss Minister Cezary Grabarczyk at the Sejm session that begins today. The motion for dismissal reads:

 

It is the constitutional duty of the Minister of Infrastructure to look after the country's transport system. Prime Minister Tusk's government is completely failing in this task, and the functioning of the system has recently become even worse.

 

The collapse of the system of financing the construction of roads and freeways and its implementation, reaching into the pockets of road users, organizational collapse in the railroads, more and more frequent railroad accidents and disasters, lack of vision and programs to support the construction and construction of housing, the complete lack of vision for the development of air transport and its infrastructure, neglecting maritime transport and maritime economy, unclear personnel and personal policy of the Ministry of Infrastructure - these are only some of the matters that the Ministry is unable to cope with.

 

No alternative has been prepared for tens of thousands of young married couples purchasing apartments, for whom the "Family on its own" program is being practically extinguished. The list of unresolved problems, omissions and failures is long.

 

The average citizen of our country does not have to be a person fully interested in public life to be able to feel the dramatic effects of Cezary Grabarczyk's inept leadership of the infrastructure ministry.

 

How much more must happen, how many Poles must die on Polish roads or in train crashes, to end the Polish Government's consent to disregarding the expectations of citizens by tolerating a minister who is not defended by any substantial arguments, but only by his political friends?

 

The Polish infrastructure is in a state of growing catastrophe, and the minister responsible has completely lost the ability to solve the growing problems, which is confirmed by the events of recent days. Every day, every week deepens this collapse.

 

It should be pointed out, among others, unprofessional preparation and implementation of the electronic toll collection system for national roads with negative consequences for the financing of the system based on the National Road Fund of the programme for construction, modernisation of national roads and freeways, as well as deterioration of the level of maintenance, operation and, in particular, safety on local roads. The system has not worked as expected to date, and its functioning in its current form is flawed. 

 

Failed reform of Regional Transport deepens Among other things due to the lack of reaction from Minister Grabarczyk and his subordinates. Today's railroad workers' strike is an absolute expression of this.

 

Deteriorating technical condition of railroad tracks It clearly decreases the level of safety in train traffic. The Minister is charged with wasting the use of EUR 1.2 billion of European funds for railroad investments in the situation of the dramatic condition of Polish tracks and related facilities as well as railroad stations which are in terrible condition.

 

The Minister of Infrastructure of the current government has allowed for the collapse of preparations for Euro 2012 in terms of road and railroad investments. As of June 2012, not even half of the plan will have been met in this regard.

 

It is paralyzing to know that only 5 out of 27 sections being built or repaired specifically for this circumstance, the roads are being built on schedule, while the rest are at significant or complete risk.

 

Fatal level of preparation by officials subordinate to the Minister of road investments for implementation, and later supervision over their construction at a similar level, results in stopping of further road investments, often with departure or even escape of contractors from the construction site, and in consequence huge financial losses for the State, estimated today at billions of zlotys.

 

As the petitioners have mentioned above, these are only some of the charges that incriminate the current Minister of Infrastructure for the disastrous state of such an important area of government placed under his supervision and management.

 

As you can see, each of the demonstrated reasons is individually sufficient argument for Minister Cezary Grabarczyk to be dismissed from his position with immediate effect. Every day that an incompetent minister remains in this position brings real losses to the State and its citizens.

 

Polish women and men expect that the chaos that has prevailed in the Ministry of Infrastructure for four years will finally be called by its name, and the minister responsible for this state of affairs, Cezary Grabarczyk, will bear responsibility commensurate with the negligence and omissions that we have seen over the years.

 

Regardless of the previously submitted motions of censure against the Minister of Infrastructure Mr. Cezary Grabarczyk, which only as a result of protecting the particular interests of the ruling party were not taken into account by the Polish Parliament, in the light of recent events on the railroads the following problems deserve special attention of the public opinion:

 

1. Threat of repayment of EU funds allocated to rail transport in the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment. Investment mess carried out by PKP PLK. From the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment 2007-2012 in the amount of EUR 4 billion for railroad infrastructure, less than 20 percent of that amount has been used so far. It is worth recalling the Minister's and the government's decision from January 2011 to transfer the amount of EUR 1.2 billion from railroad investments to roads, without arrangements with the European Commission.

 

2. Opening the rail market to multiple carriers without strengthening regulatory and safety oversight functions Railroad Traffic Office.

 

3. No serious station investment, and replaced by washing and repainting a few stations. It is worth reminding that the biggest railroad station investment project executed today - construction of a railroad station and a shopping center in Katowice - was initiated in 2006 by the Ministry of Transport and PKP. It was then that a tender procedure was launched to select an investor under the Public-Private Partnership formula. (The agreement was formally finalized in 2008).

 

4. Loss of market by PKP Cargo to about 50 percent. to its competitors. A drop in the weight of goods carried from 145 million tons to less than 110 million tons.

 

5. A significant reduction in the standard of services passenger transportation and significantly increase travel times on major transportation routes.

 

In less than a year alone, there have been a number of serious incidents resulting from a decline in rail safety management, including:

 

November 2010: A collision of trains and explosion of a set of tankers a dozen meters from one of the busiest streets in Białystok and 800 meters from one of the largest housing estates.

 

December 2010: Chaos related to the introduction of a new timetable - for the first time tickets were sold for trains that did not exist in the timetable (as a reward, Minister Grabarczyk received a bouquet of flowers in January after a vote of no confidence).

 

June 2011: Power failure at the Central Railway Station in Warsaw. For many hours the most important railroad station in Poland was paralyzed.

 

July 2011: Train crash - a set of freight cars hit the building of the Strzelce Krajeńskie railroad station (3 people dead).

 

August 2011: PKP Intercity train crash (1 dead, over 80 injured).

 

In view of the above, we believe that Infrastructure Minister Cezary Grabarczyk is no longer able to lead the ministry and its subordinate institutions, which makes the Law and Justice Club's motion for a vote of no confidence in him by the Sejm well-founded. In spite of everything we hope that during the last weeks of Donald Tusk's presidency a person who will stop harming our country will be appointed to the position of the Minister of Infrastructure.

 

Law and Justice Parliamentary Club