NIK submits a notification to the prosecutor’s office regarding the former minister of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The little one reacts

NIK announced on February 20 that it was submitting a notification to the prosecutor’s office in connection with the results of the audit. This concerns the Active+ program implemented last year. This is an initiative that aims to “increase the activity of older people thanks to the support of non-governmental organizations working for seniors.”

“The selection of offers was to a small extent competitive in nature”

In the competition, non-governmental organizations submitted over 1.9 thousand applications. projects for an amount exceeding PLN 280 million. The Ministry selected 518 offers worth PLN 39 million. At the beginning of April, changes were introduced to the competition regulations, as well as changes to the regulation regarding the appointment of the competition committee, after which, under the strategic assessment procedure, 141 projects were co-financed – says the chamber in a press release.

“Of the 44 non-governmental organizations that received funds to implement their projects in the Silesian Voivodeship on this basis, as many as 24 operated in the district from which the then deputy minister granting the funding stood for election to the Sejm. They received a total of over PLN 1.7 million.

After carrying out the audit, the Supreme Audit Office found the following irregularities: “the adopted solutions did not ensure an optimal selection of projects” and “the selection of offers was to a small extent competitive in nature.” Attention was also paid to “the way the funds were allocated by the then deputy minister under the so-called “strategic assessment”.

Former minister of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy comments on the Supreme Audit Office’s decision

Irregularities also included the fact that “on the basis of the strategic assessment, co-financing was granted to offers that received fewer points in the basic competition procedure than offers rated higher by experts.”

The head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (in the second government of Mateusz Morawiecki) was Marlena Maląg, who later joined the Ministry of Development for two weeks (in the third government). In her opinion, “the program was properly implemented,” reports the Polish Press Agency. However, the Active+ program was directly supervised by her deputy, Stanisław Szwed (currently an MP from Law and Justice).

According to Maląg, the Swede “made decisions with full responsibility, taking into account the best public interest – so that the senior policy was implemented comprehensively throughout the country,” he says in an interview with PAP.

What is the Active+ program?

At the beginning of last year, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy announced that “applications can be submitted for funding from the multi-annual program for the Elderly Active+ for 2021-2025 – 2023 Edition.” It was explained then that any non-governmental organization or institution conducting public benefit activities may apply for funding in the amount of PLN 25,000. PLN up to PLN 250 thousand zloty.

– Thanks to the program, projects are co-financed to increase the participation of older people in all areas of social life. The implemented projects will diversify the everyday life of older people and provide them with fully safe and diverse forms of activity tailored to their needs and capabilities, said Deputy Minister Szwed.

The four most important goals of the program included “social activity” (including encouraging seniors to get involved in local affairs, etc.), “social participation”, “digital inclusion” (so that more seniors can master, among others, new technologies), as well as preparing citizens for old age.