More difficult administration: government offices close en masse in Hungary
According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, “the war in our neighbourhood and the sanctions imposed by Brussels have caused an energy crisis. The government has imposed a 25 percent reduction in gas consumption in public bodies due to the many-fold increase in energy prices”. This affects numerous government offices in Hungary.
Government offices close for four months
As a result, they say, between 2 November 2022 and 17 March 2023, as planned, some low-traffic government offices will be closed to customers, 24.hu writes. In other words, these offices will be closed for four and a half months.
According to the statement, the autumn-winter period is typically a period of lower customer traffic. Since more than 280 government offices will be open from November to March, they will be providing sufficient capacity. At least one government office will remain open in each district and in each borough of the capital. The staff of the offices concerned will work in other departments. For more information, please visit kormanyablak.hu.
The Szabó Ervin Library is fighting for survival
The energy crisis has caused problems for the Budapest Szabó Ervin Library and its branch libraries as well. They are all maintained by the Budapest municipality. Many things will have to change in order to survive, said Péter Fodor, the library’s director.
The institution is facing its third major crisis, after the 2008 economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. “We are saving money wherever we can,” said Fodor, who said that the HUF 140 million (EUR 335,255) in overheads paid so far will rise to HUF 450 million (EUR 1,077,605) next year.
According to G7, utility bills have so far accounted for 5 percent of the total annual budget. However, this could rise to over 10 percent next year. The Central Library has a large readership, with an average of 2-3,000 people a day and 3-4,000 during exam periods. This is the main reason why it is so important what the fate of the library will be.
The key to survival is in the hands of the Municipal Assembly. If the body can secure next year’s budget, that is, if it can increase the maintenance subsidy with the increased overheads, then there is hope.
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Source: 24.hu, Index.hu
As usual Orban blames everyone else for his mismanagement of the economy. He should spend less time being Putin’s puppet.