Latvian State Audit: Port managers have forgotten that ports are national property

Authorities must also make sure that finances provided to managers of port administrations are not wasted on expensive cars, bonus money and lawyers in unsuccessful court processes.

SA Council member Aivars Ērglis has told Delfi that “managers have forgotten that ports are national property that should serve for the development of society. The government, on the other hand, has forgotten that their duty is to provide transparent and reasonable management of national properties.”

BNN’s published reports of the SA in regard to the situation at Latvian ports serve as a reminder of this service’s constant attempts to sort out this industry since 2011.

In November 2011, the SA had concluded that none of the authorities that were entrusted with sorting out the management of Ventspils Freeport had succeeded in securing transparent and reasonable use of funding.

Up until this day the SA has been regularly informing society, the government and port managers about their unfinished or blatantly ignored tasks, violations, illogical decisions and non-transparent money flow at freeports.

Nevertheless, Ērglis believes that instead of reacting to criticism, Transport Ministry has formed a work group whose developed action plan (inaction plan, according to Ērglis) is generally aimed to make sure the established situation at the largest Latvian ports remains unchanged.

“TM does not need to perform any measures in order to make sure members of the Boards of Latvian ports act professionally and independently to the fluctuations of political processes in the country. TM does not have to do anything in order to secure proper evaluation of port managers, because this is already done by port authorities,” concluded Ērglis after examining the statement provided by the work group.

He believes TM has been provided with “a respectable” opinion that everything is more or less in order with the management of Latvian ports. In the event of problems being discovered by the work group, “the care over the sick person will be entrusted to the sick person”.