Final Word from Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Lubomír Lízal, the much-praised addition to the CNB board, wrote in HN last Nov.that the solar boom is a social crime in terms of missed opportunity. The Kč 20bn inannual subsidies could finance two more Charles Universities and two more Academiesof Sciences, he said. As a member of the ČEZ supervisory board, Lízal has beenin a unique position to identify other missed opportunities. For example, how muchmoney did ČEZ pay to middlemen on its solar deals? Did any ČEZ employees receivekickbacks from these deals or from overpriced and underpeforming foreign acquisitions?Who owns CEEI, which is building an overpriced spent-fuel storage facility?Were (or are) any ČEZ employees on both sides of the table as beneficial owners ofAppian/Škoda? We'll reserve praise for Dr. Lízal until he dutifully comments onwhether any 'Charles Universities' have slipped from ČEZ into foreign bank accounts.
Glossary of difficult words
kickback - a payment made to someone who has facilitated a transaction or appointment, esp. illicitly;
to underpeform - to perform less well than expected; of a company, to produce a lower return on investment than expected;
both sides of the table - representing both ČEZ and a supplier at the same time;
beneficial owner - the true owner of a security, as opposed to the person who might represent this owner;
dutiful - conscientiously or obediently fulfilling one’s duty.