The new Minister of Transport must prioritise port reform and railway development, emphasised Ivars Landmanis, Chairman of the Council of the Latvian Stevedoring Companies Association.
Commenting on the nomination of Atis Švinka, a parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Defense and a Saeima deputy, as the Minister of Transport by the “Progressives” party, Landmanis stated that Švinka’s performance at the ministry should first be evaluated. However, for the association, it is crucial that the candidate is well-versed in the transport sector. At present, port reform is a particularly important issue in this field.
He stressed that progress must be made by cooperating with industry experts and the private sector to ensure everything is properly organised.
Landmanis pointed out that the new Minister of Transport will need to implement port reform without ignoring the private sector operating in the ports. The current reform plan envisages state or municipal representatives in the political leadership of ports, but it is equally important for those involved in port development to have a say in decision-making.
“In this case, we have emphasised that private sector representatives should also be part of the leadership, as is the case in Liepāja. Port reform there is progressing slightly differently from the association’s vision,” Landmanis added.
He stressed that the Ministry of Transport and the new minister must engage with industry professionals to discuss the further direction of the reform. “There have been numerous objections to the port reform submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, but this is the first issue that needs to be understood—both from an economic tax perspective and a defence tax perspective, as ports are part of the country’s strategic infrastructure,” Landmanis noted.
He added that the second most important issue is railway development, which must be properly managed. In his view, this includes governance issues, as well as evaluating whether the state should maintain its own freight carriers when the market provides private freight transport operators.
As previously reported by LETA, the Progressives party has decided to nominate Atis Švinka for the position of Minister of Transport.
Švinka obtained a bachelor’s degree in social sciences in management from the University of Latvia in 2002 and has served as the head of several companies. In the 14th Saeima, he is a member of the Defence, Internal Affairs, and Corruption Prevention Committee, as well as the National Security Committee.
It was also reported that Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV), in her effort to “restart” her government, dismissed Minister of Transport Kaspars Briškens (P), Minister of Education Anda Čakša (JV), and Minister of Welfare Uldis Augulis (ZZS) from their positions.
The Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) has nominated Reinis Uzulnieks, the parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Welfare, for the position of Minister of Welfare.
New Unity initially decided to nominate Mayor of Cēsis Jānis Rozenbergs for the position of Minister of Education and Science. However, after a few days, Rozenbergs declined the opportunity to join the government. Subsequently, the party nominated Dace Melbārde, the parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the position.