Sejm speaker Kuchciński donates to charity for his flights in govt plane

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Private broadcaster Radio Zet was the first on Monday to inform about Marshal Kuchciński's donation to charities.

According to Radio Zet's reports from last Thursday (25 July), Kuchciński was flying together with his family in the government's plane. Radio Zet's journalists came across documents confirming six flights during which Kuchciński was on board together with members of his family and State Protection Service officers. According to the radio's information, it wasn't clear whether the Kuchciński family paid for the trip or not.

In response to these revelations, the Sejm Information Centre (CIS) informed on Thursday that each of Kuchciński's trips in government plane had official character and the presence of additional passengers on board did not affect the overall cost of the flights.

On Friday, the head of CIS informed that the Marshal of the Sejm decided to cover the costs of the flight of his family members and that he would donate the money to charity. Andrzej Grzegrzółka said at the time all flights taken by Marshal Kuchciński were related to official duties.

He also said that the exact amount of the donation would be estimated based on the contract between the Sejm and PLL LOT airlines.

Marek Kuchciński underscored in his statement on Saturday that his fellow-passengers had no possibility to pay for the flight and their presence hadn't affected the overall cost. He added that he would cover his family members' costs by donating to charity, in order to resolve any doubts.

In reaction to Kuchciński's flights, the opposition grouping PO-KO (Civic Platform - Civic Coalition) demanded his dismissal from Sejm speaker function. As his replacement, the formation proposed Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, the current deputy speaker of the lower house.

Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP, Radio Zet