Jakub Čech
Prize for Courage 2017 30 492 Kč
Young power against corruption and clientelism
Jakub Čech is, by virtue of his uncompromising stance on the suspect economic performance of the City of Prostějov is, at an age of 17, a paragon of inspiration for not only his peers at the time when a part of the Czech society has lost hope that something at all might get better. His efforts helped to bring under the microscope the doings of Prostějov politicians and actors behind the scenes. Their reaction was swift and Jakub started to face pressure. But unbroken, he pursues the good thing.
Jakub was the first to raise the brow over problems around a case, involving hundreds of millions of crowns and centering on an Olympic centre in Prostějov. He described suspect circumstances and invited the people and local politicos to take action and resolve the issue. Provision of funds for this particular project was in the official hands of the former deputy minister of education, Simona Kratochvílová, who was subsequently arrested and charged of manipulating subsidies for sports projects. The Ministry of Education had demonstrably adjusted its funding rules in favour of the edifice owned not only by the City of Prostějov and the Olomouc Region, but also a tennis club chaired by Miroslav Černošek, a controversial lobbyist in sports.
Jakub keeps an eye on the local town hall and will not let politicos “breathe freely”. He has signalled, among other issues, also a conflict of interest on the part of Mayor Alena Rašková in the cause of subletting school premises namely to a school she is a co-owner of which. This key information missed out in the original protocol, and Jakub duly pointed out this omission. The City’s very forthcoming approach to the Mayor’s private school is plain to see for all and sundry. But events took a bizarre twist. Far from thanking Jakub for his efforts, Alena Rašková actually sued him for damages, although such action is not possible. The Mayor’s action amounted to intimidation. The official protocol was subsequently changed twice. Jakub also alerted the register court that the said private school had breached the Act on Accountancy as it failed to publish its financial accounts for the past 10 years and it was not possible to check its economic figures in that period.
The Mayor’s aides, namely Zdeněk Fišer and Pavel Smetana, similarly acted when alerted to a possible clash of interest in handling municipal assets: Jakub again faced intimidation and politicos wanted his family to pay 10,000 CZK in reward. The authorities’ discomfort was aggravated by an official affidavit that rated Jakub’s submission justifiable.
Jakub Čech continues to face attacks from all quarters, including Václav Klause Jr, who branded him a squeal and symbol of Soviet propaganda. Unfortunately, it was not possible to reverse action on Jakub’s father, a city employee in charge of a local cinema, who was ostensibly sacked on the grounds of reluctance in strange circumstances.
Jakub attends public debates, youth debate forums and related events in an effort to rally young people to civil action. His frequent articles probe cases associated with the City of Prostějov and the Olomouc Region. Let’s wish for more young people like Jakub.
