The Saxon state parliament will vote on Friday at a special session on the appointment of a committee of inquiry into funding practices at the Ministry of Social Affairs. This was announced by parliament on Wednesday. The committee was set up at the instigation of the AfD parliamentary group. The background to this is a special report by the State Court of Auditors.
The report criticized the implementation of a funding guideline for the integration of refugees and attested that the ministry had acted unlawfully to an "extraordinary extent". The auditors did not find any evidence of personal misconduct on the part of Minister Petra Köpping (SPD). However, almost every one of the more than 100 procedural files examined was found to have significant deficiencies. In particular, funding from 2016 to 2019 was audited.
The AfD now wants to use the U Committee to investigate responsibilities. The ministry had already reacted and changed the funding guidelines. In addition, the state secretary responsible, Sebastian Vogel, was retired.
According to the constitution, the state parliament must set up a committee of inquiry if one fifth of its members are in favor of it. The AfD has the required number of votes due to the strength of its parliamentary group.
If the committee of inquiry is set up on Friday, the election of members and deputy members of the committee will follow. The committee chair and deputy chair must also be appointed.
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