The management boards of Latvia’s large sea ports have changes ahead: two ministers – Minister of Environment Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) Māris Sprindžuks and Minister of Transport Jānis Vitenbergs have decided to replace their representatives. However, while VARAM has chosen experienced businessmen to work at Riga and Ventspils freeports, minister Vitenbergs has chosen lawyers with no experience working at a sea port.
Latvian Association of Stevedoring Companies (LSA) strongly objects to such a decision from the minister. This association proposes choosing an experienced professional to work in the board of Liepāja Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
It is currently planned that Latvia’s Ministry of Transport will be represented in the board of Riga Freeport by the director of the ministry’s Legal Affairs Department Liene Priedīte-Kanēviča. Ogre County’s Deputy Executive Director Dana Bārbale will replace Inese Birziņa in the board of Liepāja SEZ.
Latvian Association of Stevedoring Companies, which unites businessmen working at Liepāja, Ventspils and Rīga freeports, invites Jānis Vitenbergs to reconsider this nomination. The association turns the minister’s attention towards the need to ensure the management of Liepājas SEZ is done in accordance with good management principles that corresponds to OECD criteria. The association also stresses it is highly important to choose a competent and experienced official that would ensure close cooperation between Liepāja SEZ and the ministry.
“Until now appointment of officials to the board of Liepāja SEZ has always been based on choosing the best possible professional when it comes to management, as well as in respect of sea port management specifics to provide the biggest possible contribution from each board member to the work done by the board,” as mentioned in the proposal sent to the Minister of Transport and PM Krišjānis Kariņš by LSA.
LSA stresses that publicly available information
is not enough to tell if Dana Bārbale is competent for the aforementioned post.
The association invites the minister to consider a different and more appropriate candidate to work as a member of the board of Liepāja SEZ or consider the option of to preserve the existing board member.
Minister of Transport Jānis Vitenbergs told BNN that the existing regulations let ministers select representatives based on their own opinions. “I have decided to nominate professional lawyers to work in sea port boards and represent the interests of the Ministry of Transport at ports and implement the sea port management model reform to the end. We need Inese Birziņa to perform her duties in the ministry. Dana Bārbale is a lawyer with a Doctorate degree. She works on management of various projects in Ogre every day. She is not a member of the National Alliance,” said Vitenbergs.
Minister of Environment Protection and Regional Development Māris Sprindžuks has chosen businessmen Edgars Štelmahers and Ivars Landmanis to work at Riga and Ventspils freeport boards respectively. According to publicly available information, Edgars Štelmahers is a member of Riga City Council, board member of New Rosme LLC and council member of Uprent LLC. Ivars Landmans is a vice-chairman of the council of Latvian Association of Stevedoring Companies that has worked for many years in leading posts in various companies associated with sea ports and the transit sector.
Latvian Association of Stevedoring Companies is a development-focused industry cluster that unites stevedoring companies from Liepāja, Ventspils and Riga, and as associated members operate from Riga, Ventspils and Liepāja sea ports, as well as Latvian Railway JSC. LSA develops various projects and initiatives focused on the industry’s development to promote and create new cooperation and high added value services at Latvian sea ports. Latvian Association of Stevedoring Companies is a member of the Latvian Port, Transit and Logistics Council.
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