My country of birth, Hungary, is rapidly deteriorating into the kind of surreal place more familiar to fans of Terry Gilliam films.
Take the following letter that was sent, among other places, to all hospitals (hospitals!) in Hungary. This is my translation; I tried to be as literal as possible but of course bureaucratese is not an easy language to master.
Budget Department
File Number: 29482-I/2012-KTF
Administrator: Ildikó Bátri
Attachments: Forms, 2 pcs.
To the chief financial officers of all budgetary institutions under the management or maintenance and management of EMMI
On location
Subject: Call for reports for the National Equestrian Sector Registry as specified under Government Decree 1061/2012. (III.12.)
In accordance with the text of paragraph 9 of Government Decree 1061/2012. (III.12.) about the duties and the regulations needed to carry out priority duties in the National Equestrian Program, to facilitate unified asset management goals, the affected ministers must provide recommendations for the creation of a national equestrian sector registry.
Even in these days, significant assets are present in the equestrian sector. Assignment to accepted strategy is an essential condition for responsible asset management in this sector. A first step in this direction is to create a sectoral state asset inventory.
This requires a full survey and census, based on unified criteria, of all state asset elements related to the equestrian sector (real estate, land, related fixed assets, movable assets, horses, immaterial goods, etc.), a determination of asset values, and on the basis of this, the creation of an asset register (inventory) that forms the basis of asset management.
On the basis of the above I request that, by completing the attached forms, exclusively via electronic transmission – also indicating negative answers – no later than
Monday, July 9, 2012, 4 PM,
please return your responses to the e-mail address ildiko.batri@****.gov.hu.
I bring to the attention of intermediate managing agencies with respect to institutions under their management that they should arrange for the collection of the data and its timely submission.
Budapest, June 26, 2012.
With regards,
Head of Department
Signed and sealed, of course, with a very official-looking stamp.
The mind boggles.