Latvian Olympic Committee (LOK) is prepared to take the matter to a court of law if the issue with the rent of the Olympic Centre is not resolved, the Saeima Parliamentary Inquiry Committee was told by LOK President Raimonds Lazdiņš on Wednesday.
The committee discussed the topic of the request submitted by multiple Saeima opposition deputies to Prime Minister Evika Siliņa on the government-sanctioned increase in the state and local government lease fee.
Saeima deputy Linda Liepiņa said at the meeting that “we woke up one morning and noticed the rent of the Olympic Centre had been inflated nine times”. She said that responses from the Ministry of Finance are complex. The Saeima has asked the Cabinet of Ministers to develop a methodology to determine rent for locations like that, said the Saeima deputy.
The responses received so far indicate that there is no methodology, because a delegation to a private company to come up with assessments is not a methodology – it is a recommendation.
Lazdiņš noted during the committee’s meeting that the assessment that was taken into account when determining the rent was incorrect. He also emphasized that the committee does not agree with such an increase in the rent and is ready to litigate. If the situation does not change, the Olympic Centre will have to be closed or prices for its services will be significantly increased.
Parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Finance Karīna Ploka mentioned at the meeting that understanding the importance of the issue, meetings have been held with all parties involved, but there are a number of regulatory enactments that need to be taken into account.
She acknowledged that the solution is currently not what it should have been and the issue needs to be addressed. The Ministry is ready to work on amendments to change the order.
In turn, the parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science Silvija Reinberga emphasized that a large part of the issues are not within the competence of the Ministry of Education and Science. A number of meetings have taken place and the Ministry believes that there is a possibility to apply the regulation that the rent coefficient would be 1.5% of the cadastral value.
During the meeting, Riga Vice-Mayor Edvards Ratnieks emphasized that the cadastral value should be taken into account when determining the rent. “I see no other option than to make amendments,” said Ratnieks, pointing out that the transitional period can also be extended so that in the meantime it would be possible to sort out the issue of the rent.
It has already been reported that the land lease fee of Rimi Olympic Centre has so far been set at EUR 27 988 per year, but as of the 1st of October, due to amendments to the regulations on the land lease and building rights of a public person, it is EUR 338 661 euros per year.