NIK verified how public institutions manage the amelioration projects as part the EU Programme for the Development of Rural Areas 2007 - 2013. The auditors screened the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, Marshal’s Offices and Provincial Directorates of Amelioration and Water Structures.
Although the amount of funds from the state- and EU budget is growing, there are more and more amelioration structures every year which require modernisation or even reconstruction. It refers to as many as 22 percent of natural watercourses, 27 percent of channels and as much as 41 percent of flood banks. It means that the pace of destruction and depreciation is faster than the progress of works related to their maintenance and development.
By the end of 2011, the Provincial Directorates of Amelioration and Water Structures submitted with the Marshal’s Offices 348 grant applications for the expansion and modernisation of relevant structures. By that time, the local governments issued 260 decisions, awarding grants of PLN 828.7 million. Most of that amount (PLN 621.5 million) came from the Programme’s EU funds (by June 2011, PLN 127 million of that amount was used).
Although the Programme has been effective since 2007, the local governments could receive the first grant applications from the Provincial Directorates of Amelioration and Water Structures only in May 2009. There are different reasons for this delay. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development had a six months’ delay in issuing a regulation on the terms of granting financial aid within the ”Enhancement and expansion of the infrastructure related to the development and adaptation of agriculture and forestry by administering the agricultural water resources”. Reconciling the text of agreements between the local governments and the Agency for the Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture concerning the division of tasks within the Programme took even longer - it finished only in January 2009. By June 2009, the accreditation procedure with regard to the disbursement of the EU funds was pending. Determining the source of VAT financing took a long time as well.
As a consequence of these delays, a part of the technical documentation produced by the Provincial Directorates of Amelioration and Water Structures expired and additional financial outlays were essential. For instance, in Poznań, Zielona Góra and Wrocław extra costs totalled PLN 258 thousand. Besides, the local governments did not manage to use a part of funds from the budget for 2009. For example, in Lubuskie Province the amount of PLN 30 million was unused and in Małopolskie Province it was even more - PLN 30 million 750 thousand.
