Settling the Funeral Bill
Agnes Sekowski | 25th August 2010

Bickering over the bill for the president and first lady’s funeral

After several months, the Małopolska Voivodship and Mayor of Krakow have still not settled the bill for the funeral of President Lech Kaczyński and First Lady Maria Kaczyński. The couple was killed in the tragic Smolensk plane crash and laid to rest in the crypt of the Wawel Castle in April.

The city has still not received 366,000 złoty for expenses incurred, as Stanisław Kracik, voivod of Małopolska, claims city officials have overstated the costs of the funeral. The office for the Management of Municipal Infrastructure and Transport (ZIKiT), the city entity responsible for organising the ceremony, claims the costs are accurate. The voivod’s office is still apparently reviewing the invoices to make certain that transactions for which they are being asked to pay actually transpired.

An unofficial source for Gazeta Krakowska specified that the hold-up had to do with construction materials that were supposedly used on the Main Market Square during the funeral. When ZIKiT finishes compiling proof of how the money was spent, down to the last złoty, they are planning to meet together with the voivod and contractors to put any further doubts to rest.

The organisation of the funeral for the presidential couple cost 2.8 million złoty, of which 2.425 million was already repaid from the voidvodship to city authorities. So far ZIKiT has only received 167,000 złoty for the invoice it has filed.

See also: Poland Bids Farewell to Presidential Couple

Photo: The funeral procession makes its way down Grodzka Street to Wawel Castle / photo by Keven Erickson

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