In an effort to ensure objective, fair and multi-sided evaluation of the situation with possible violations in Riga City Council’s Transport Department, according to the city council faction of New Unity (JV).
JV faction representatives have prepared a legislative draft to have an independent committee to commence a review of the disciplinary act against two Transport Department officials.
The committee should include officials from Riga City Council’s central administration: head of the Legal Affairs Office, deputy director of the City Development Department for construction affairs and the head of the Document Management and city council support office.
To ensure transparency, the committee is planned to be assigned with supervisors from the Ministry of Transport, Society for Openness – Delna, Latvian Association of Civil Engineers and Riga’s Neighbourhood Alliance.
JV Riga City Council faction chairman Olafs Pulks said “there are suspicions about irresponsible actions using municipality’s finances, and this needs investigating.
At the same time, such an inspection should be done transparently and with assistance from experts, because this is the only way we can be sure about the objectivity of results,” said Pulks.
In an accompanying letter prepared for municipal deputies together with the legislative act it is mentioned the committee’s composition will ensure the adjudication of disciplinary cases in a legally sound process and eliminating the risk of conflict of interest.
JV Riga City Council faction turns attention towards the fact that if the inspection is entrusted to workers of Riga City Council executive director Jānis Lange, there is a risk of a conflict of interest. JV faction representatives explain that one official dismissed from the Transport Department in April 2023, in accordance with an order from the Executive Director, was assigned to carry out road and access road pavement restoration works within the framework of road maintenance agreements, which were declared economically disadvantageous by another order of the Executive Director issued in June this year, which is what caused the initiation of disciplinary proceedings.
According to authors of the legislative draft, the violations mentioned in the disciplinary act against officials of the Transport Department are serious and voluminous. This is why they invite compliance with Law On Disciplinary Liability of State Civil Servants and Riga City Council’s internal rules, which require complicated cases to be viewed by an independent committee.
This would ensure officials’ responsibility is not reviewed in a one-sided manner and that no officials whose action or inaction are not involved in the investigation or are able to influence the process.
BNN previously reported that Riga City Council Transport Department’s acting director Jānis Vaivods is accused of wasting several million euros, as announced by the municipality’s executive director Jānis Lange at a press-conference on Friday, the 16th of June.
Lange did not mention the exact amount, but it is about several million euros. The municipality has yet to turn to the law enforcement institutions, but Lange did say it may happen.
Lange reported that after checking information reported by a whistle-blower it was concluded that the Transport Department does not have an appropriate system of records that would inspire confidence about the volume of work done.
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