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Carolina (English) No 089
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STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC
School of Social Sciences of Charles University
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
E-mail address: carolina@n.fsv.cuni.cs
Fax: (+422) 231 7391
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C A R O L I N A No 89, Monday, October 11, 1993.
FROM THE EVENTS OF RECENT DAYS (September 23-October 6)
Second Wave Of Cupon Privatization Begins
The second and last wave of coupon privatization began October 1.
Investment coupon holders will be able to choose shares from 770
enterprises offering holdings valued at 145 billion Czech crowns.
Fifty-three percent of Czech citizens show an interest in taking
part in the coupon privatization, according to a public opinion poll
conducted in September. Nearly a fourth (23 percent) show no interest,
with approximately one-fifth undecided.
Coupon books and stamps have been sold in post offices since
September 29. Booklet registration is to take place in October and
November. Investors are expected to be able to transfer investment
points into investment and joint funds by December 1. Final deadlines
will be announced by the Minister of Finance. Should problems occur
dealing with proving Czech citizenship during registration of coupon
booklets, the government would delay the term of the second-wave coupon
privatization. Each person who desires to join the second wave must
prove his or her Czech citizenship. Validity of national citizenship can
be attained at Czech registrars and police offices.
During the first round of privatization last year, property was
valued at more than 300 billion crowns. Of 15 million inhabitants of the
former Czechoslovakia, 11 million citizens above the age of 18 were
eligible to take part in the pivatization. Nearly 8.5 million people
took advantage of this opportunity. The first wave concerned larger
enterprises, while the second will focus on smaller ventures.
Vladimir Dlouhy: Still Czech Republic's most popular politition
Vladimir Dlouhy (Civic Democratic Alliance), Minister of Industry
and Economics, is the Czech Republic's most popular politician.
According to the Research Institute of Public Opinion, 76% of Czech
citizens trust him.
Second in line - President Vaclav Havel - holds 68%, while Jan
Strasky (Civic Democratic Party), Minister of Transportation and last
Czechoslovak Prime Minister, is at 66%. Prime Minister and head of the
Civic Democratic Party, Vaclav Klaus, is running in fourth place with
61%. The political opposition is being lead by post-communist
Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier (currently not in office).
Chairman of the Civic Movement, he takes on the government with 57%.
From June to September, voter confidence in the government (57%)
and president, remained steady. But confidence in Parliament has
dropped. Two thirds of voters do not have confidence in Parliament. The
public feels that members of Parliament are serving their own
interests and ignoring the needs of the people. Some citizens also
rebuke Klaus's cabinet, saying that the government does not take care of
their problems. President Havel's non-supporters say that he does not
keep his promises, and changes his opinions.
Half of the population is convinced that society is heading in the
right direction.
Average Salary in the Czech Republic
The average monthly salary in the Czech Republic reached 5,678
Crowns a month in August, according to the Czech News Agency, an
increase of 56 percent since 1989. In Prague, the average salary reached
6.369 a month. The highest growth was in the banking and financial
fields, the smallest in transportation, education and health care.
Decontamination Of an Army Area
According to CTK, the Czech Ministry of Environment will provide
6.4 million crowns to the city hall of Vysoke Myto for decontamination
of an area left by the Soviet Army. The expences, however, are expected
to be as much as 9.5 million crowns.
Prevention of Double Taxation
A bilateral agreement preventing double taxation on income and
profit was signed by the Czech Finance Minister Ivan Kocarnik and Adrian
A. Basora, U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic has
already signed such agreements with nearly 30 countries, including
Japan, Canada and most of Western Europe. The United States was the last
of the major industrialized countries to conclude an agreement.
Old One-Crown Coin Withdrawn, New Fifty-Crown Coin Issued
Use of the oldest means of payment in the Czech Republic - the
one-crown coin, put into circulation in 1957 - finished on Sept. 30th
1993 and the coins can be changed in any of the Czech commercial banks
till the end of January, 1994.
This means that the only federal coins left jingling in Czech
wallets are the old two- and five-crown coins; these are valid until
Nov. 30th and can be changed after then until the end of January, 1994.
Also, a new fifty-crown banknote with a portrait of St. Agnes and
a motif of a blazing heart with a teardrop on the other side went into
circulation Oct. 6. Like the other Czech banknotes, the new fifty-crown
note contains a number of the most modern protective features and
tangible symbols for blind people.
Czechoslovak postage stamps withdrawn from circulation
Postage stamps carrying the sign of Czechoslovakia are no longer
valid as of September 30. However, it will be possible to exchange them
in any post-office in Czech Republic until November 30.
EXCHANGE RATES of the Czech National Bank (price rates)
buy sell
BRITIAN GBP 42,14 44,98
FRANCE FRF 4,88 5,28
CANADA CAD 20,78 22,56
AUSTRIA ATS 2,46 2,58
GERMANY DEM 17,24 18,16
USA USD 28,26 29,66
Exchange rates are valid until October 5.
SPORTS
Top-name orienteerers took part in the Czech Republic Championships
September 25 in Trutnove. The races were qualifying events for the
international championships to be held in the United States. The winner
of the mens category was Prokes from Prague and the winner of the womens
category was Cieslarova, from the University of Ostrava, a several-time
champion of the Czech Republic.
FORECAST
Temperatures in the last week of September slipped slightly closer
to winter weather. Temperatures fell to 6 degrees Celsius atop the
southern Sumava Mountains. This week the weather is warmer again, about
20 degress in the afternoons. According to forecasts, October is
expected to have average temperatures and below average rainfalls.
DEAR READERS,
Beginning next week, CAROLINA will be available each week.
University holidays are over and first-year students, who are going to
prepare the news-service during the academic year 93/94, will take their
academic vows October 7. For the first time this year, foreign students
at the Charles University School of Social Sciences will participate in
the production of CAROLINA. We hope our third year will be as successful
as the previous two.
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