Schwarzbuch 2025 Exposes Millions Wasted on Useless Projects
The latest edition of the 'Schwarzbuch' by the Bundesvereinigung der Steuerzahler has highlighted numerous examples of wasteful public spending, including a delayed police listening center project and a road tunnel in Saxony-Anhalt. The association calls for greater transparency and clear rules to prevent such budget traps.
The joint police listening center project in Leipzig, involving multiple states, has faced years of delays due to software issues, turning it into a multi-million costco stock burden instead of the planned savings. The 'Schwarzbuch' criticizes the lack of cost-benefit analyses and follow-up cost considerations that can turn projects into budget traps.
The association also warns about the 'expensive shadows' of investments, emphasizing the importance of securing operation, maintenance, and administration costs in advance. The Krötentunnel on the B6n in Saxony-Anhalt, listed in the Black Book for the second time, serves as an example of such oversight. The association demands more transparency, clear rules, and cost ceilings to prevent wasteful spending.
In Saxony, the Black Book criticizes 'bicycle speedometers' in Dresden and a bridge to nowhere in Radeburg, as well as an expensive prison building with Thuringia. Nationally, the association criticizes projects like a bridge to nowhere, a planned battery factory that became a subsidy ruin, and relocating four bats for €40,000. The 'Black Book' serves as an annual tool to uncover such wasteful spending and promote transparency and clear rules in public spending.
The 'Schwarzbuch' reveals millions being wasted on useless construction projects, poorly planned investments, and symbolic politics. The Taxpayers' Association demands strict economic tests and binding cost ceilings for construction projects to protect taxpayers' money. It also criticizes a nature experience center at Stausee Kelbra, funded with coal phase-out money, as a waste of tax money. The association urges federal, state, and municipal governments to prioritize responsible spending.
