Following a proposal from Donald Tusk’s government to provide Poland’s devastated cities and towns with loans to help rebuild after flooding, conservatives are reacting with outrage and labeling the plan “madness.”
“Providing loans for flood victims?! This is a scandal. We need to launch a program based on the Government Fund for Strategic Investments,” said former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who served in the Law and Justice (PiS) administration.
“Let’s imagine a local community. The local government, which lost a newly renovated school in a flood, the water destroyed a bridge, the sewage treatment plant is not working and the local firefighters lost, while the police have a flooded police station. What is the government offering them? A loan, yes, you heard it right,” said Morawiecki in a video recording posted on X.
The former prime minister stated that flood victims need real help and money, not loans.
“How can a community that has lost so much think about paying off more debts, about applying for loans? This is madness,” he said.
Morawiecki said the role of the state is to provide citizens with assistance and security in such moments, not loans.
“The government is there to effectively manage this assistance. We need to launch a program based on the Government Fund for Strategic Investments. We need to release several billion zlotys from the budget, and if necessary, establish a special fund, as I did during the pandemic. The reconstruction of houses, bridges, schools cannot wait, the state must show that it can rise to the challenge,” said Morawiecki.
The proposal to provide flood victims with loans instead of grants and aid is turning into a potential public relations nightmare for the government.
Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska announced the release of funds for low-interest loans as part of the government’s plan to help overcome the impact of the flood. She indicated that 21 million zlotys will first be released for the most urgent needs.
“The fight against the element is still ongoing, so we will release the money “immediately,” which will be allocated for, among others: power generators, dehumidifiers and sandbags for the crisis management center,” she said.
Hennig-Kloska added that approximately 100 million zlotys will be allocated “for low-interest loans at a rate of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent to eliminate the effects of flooding.”
“First of all, for repairing the sewage system, damage in sewage treatment plants, drinking water treatment plants, damage at waste disposal sites, and damaged boiler rooms and eliminating environmental contamination,” she stated.
