Piotr Krzystek reveals why he dismissed the director of the Culture Department

A major twist in the matter of Mayor Piotr Krzystek's dismissal of Cezary Cichy, head of the City Hall's Culture Department. The mayor finally revealed the reason for his dismissal: the official attempted to shift responsibility to the mayor for something that fell within his authority. Furthermore, Deputy Mayor Marcin Biskupski of the Civic Coalition—whom Law and Justice councilors, among others, speculated was siding with the dismissed director—stated that he, too, had been misled in this matter.

On Friday afternoon, Łukasz Kolasa, Piotr Krzystek's spokesman, first sent a statement. He reminded the public that Cezary Cichy was dismissed on July 22nd. He explained: "The decision was related to the ongoing audits of cultural institutions in the first half of this year. During these proceedings, the Department of Culture, headed by Mr. Cezary Cichy, prepared a document in which responsibility for the lack of supervision over cultural institutions was transferred to the Mayor of Szczecin, Piotr Krzystek. Meanwhile, according to the Organizational Regulations of the City Hall, the responsibilities of the Department of Culture include, among others, 'supervising the activities of municipal cultural institutions, performing statutory activities of the organizer for the institutions, and cooperating with municipal cultural institutions.' The lack of this information in correspondence with the relevant state authorities, in particular the Regional Chamber of Audit, resulted in the proceedings being referred directly to the Mayor of Szczecin, while it is the Department of Culture, its staff, and the director who directly supervise the activities of cultural institutions in Szczecin."

And more: "In accordance with applicable standards, the City Hall strives to conduct formalities, especially in relation to issues arising from the employment relationship, in an employee-employer relationship. However, due to the interest in the topic from city councilors, a petition addressed to the mayor in defense of the former director, questions from the media, and a statement from the Presidential Council of Culture in which it requested an explanation of the decision, mayors Krzystek and Biskupski met today (Friday) with representatives of the Council to put an end to speculation and present the reason for transferring Cezary Cichy to another position."

Immediately after this announcement, we learned Marcin Biskupski's position. The deputy mayor wrote: "I would like to emphasize that from the outset, my cooperation with Mr. Cezary Cichy has been successful, and the actions taken have calmed the cultural community and improved its development. Therefore, I regretfully admit that, after reviewing the case documentation, I acknowledge Mayor Piotr Krzystek's decision regarding Mr. Cezary Cichy. I also sadly admit that I was misled in this entire matter."

Let us recall that Szczecin's cultural figures have created an appeal in defense of Cezary Cichy. It was signed by, among others, Professor Inga Iwasiów, Professor Eryk Krasucki, and directors of the Contemporary Theatre, Adam Opatowicz, and Mirosław Gawęda. ©℗

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