Municipalities and capital districts with over 10,000 inhabitants will receive HUF forty-four billion government support for their utility costs. - announced the government commissioner responsible for the complex development of the central Hungarian economic development zone on Tuesday in Budapest, at a press conference. Zsolt Láng announced that the government is giving the support to maintain basic public services in the economic situation caused by the war in Ukraine and the Brussels sanctions.

Zsolt Láng reminded us that the government had already decided that it would provide HUF 32 billion in subsidies to municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants for their increased energy costs.

The government supports the everyday normal operation of the local authorities with all its might, and trusts that this help will be enough for the municipalities for the winter and spring months, added the government commissioner.

Zsolt Láng said about the subsidies:

regardless of party affiliation or political affiliation, they try to help all Hungarian settlements.

The government commissioner stated that the leaders of the settlements with more than 10,000 inhabitants were consulted individually, but not those whose leaders did not go to the meeting.

They examined, among other things, the financial situation of the settlements, their energy procurement contracts, and their expiration dates. The awarding of the support was not a condition of the local government's savings program, but, he sees, the local authorities fulfilled this on their own.

Zsolt Láng said that the Democratic Coalition announced that its capital city mayors would file a lawsuit, citing that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán "refused to support the district utilities out of political revenge".

He emphasized: it is clear from the grants awarded that all local governments received help, regardless of party affiliation.

Only those not, he said, whose leaders did not go to the consultation on this matter, did not ask for help.

These districts are either doing so well that they don't need support, or they don't want to help the people living there, said the government commissioner, adding: it's sad that the instructions of the party center were more important to these district leaders than the residents of the district.

Zsolt Láng also said that ministerial commissioner György Balla discussed the support with the leaders of 137 rural districts and himself with 17 Budapest districts.

Source: 888.hu

Featured image: MH/Patrícia Bodnár