“Nothing personal” already told that a year and a half ago, Jelgava district council members suddenly discovered that the former Jelgava district hospital was handed over to a private company a long time ago, and the municipality is still paying extra for it. When deciding on the annual payment of 85,000 euros, for the first time in 20 years the MPs had the question of what they were being paid for.
In 2003, the clinic was given a concession to the company “Kapitala pravades systéms”. One of the owners, Gundars Prolis, appointed himself and his mother to the board of the Zemgale health center, where they received generous compensation. Usually, companies that receive a state or local government benefit in a concession pay for this benefit. In this case, the council paid a private company to run the health center on its own.
Peter Wolf
Head of the cross-departmental coordination center
“The shareholder has delegated to a private person such rights that he cannot delegate. And that private person, in our opinion, is in a conflict of interest. We have also sent this information to KNAB, so that they can evaluate it according to their competence. Law enforcement institutions clearly need to assess the situation there.”
At first, only the opposition, but later the city council itself, asked the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) to evaluate both the contract and the annual payments, as well as the conflict of interest of the clinic’s management. The office concluded that the same persons who later took possession of the property proposed to transfer the clinic to the concession, however, they refused to initiate criminal proceedings for the past events. The prosecutor’s office instructed to check the situation again.
In November of last year, KNAB decided for the second time not to initiate criminal proceedings about how the Jelgava clinic came into private hands and why the region still pays extra for it every year. In February of this year, the Prosecutor’s Office instructed KNAB to check it for the third time.
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Anda Rumyantseva
Head of the Department of Criminal Procedural Investigations at KNAB
“It is such a work process, a democratic process. There are things we can do, but of course the prosecutor’s office can look and point out what we still need to do. We are following the instructions of the prosecutor and are currently continuing this investigation to the end.”
The only person that KNAB has found so far is Guntars Prolis, who was assigned by the municipality to monitor the clinic and who appointed himself as the head of the clinic, combining positions without permission. He paid an administrative fine of 170 euros.
Anda Rumyantseva
Head of the Department of Criminal Procedural Investigations at KNAB
“We have established last year that a member of the board of the Zemgale Health Center has indeed combined his position with other positions without written permission. An administrative violation process has been initiated, the person has been administratively punished, a fine of 170 euros has been imposed on the person. This person has paid the fine.”
The contract signed twenty years ago expired at the beginning of this year. In October, the council voted to sell the center at auction. This would mean that the private concessionaire could apply for the right of first refusal, because the company “Kapitala pravades systéms” got 12% of the shares of the Zemgale health center under conditions that no one understands.
The value of the municipal company is estimated at 2.5 million euros, but it is based on incomplete data provided by the private owner. It is interested in keeping the price of the clinic as low as possible.
Madars Lasmanis
Former Chairman of the Jelgava County Council (for the development of Latvia)
“We, as deputies, know very little about this capital company, we have very limited information about it, and I, as a frightened council chairman, know nothing about this capital company. All these years, the deputies have been kept at the maximum level, there are only all kinds of rumors in the city.”
Rumors in the city are that dismissed municipal officials find warm places in the clinic, while close companies get favorable contracts there.
Madars Lasmanis
Former Chairman of the Jelgava County Council (for the development of Latvia)
“If we open the Electronic Procurement System and enter the Zemgale Health Center, practically no record can be found there. This means that they have not made any purchases in accordance with the Procurement Law. This is a huge violation in nature. It has been one big financial machination that has never been in the interest of the municipality.”
At the beginning of April, after an ugly scandal, Lasmanis resigned from the post of mayor. Until then he was conciliatory. As chairman, he was satisfied with the evaluation of the clinic, but he was skeptical about terminating the concession agreement before the deadline, as it would mean litigation.
Madars Lasmanis
Former Chairman of the Jelgava County Council (for the development of Latvia)
“At that time, compromises had to be found in order for those agenda items to pass at the council meeting, we needed the votes of the Farmers’ Union, we had to find compromises with which they were ready to agree.”
Until now, the owner of the capital shares of the health center was the executive director of the municipality, Līga Lonerte. He came to his post when Ziedonis Caune from the Farmers’ Union led the council. Lonerte is also a member of the same party. After a public spat with Madara Lasmaini, she is now on sick leave. In March, supervision over the company was transferred to Lonerte’s deputy Kaspars Sniedzītis.
Tags: time prosecutors office cancels KNABs decision investigate Jelgava clinic falling private hands
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