Jānis Vītoliņš, Chairman of the Ventspils City Council, answers the Neatkarīgā's questions
On July 5, you were elected Chairman of the Ventspils City Council. Is co-operation between the party For Latvia and Ventspils (Latvijai un Ventspilij) and the National Alliance (Nacionālā apvienība) planned in the long run in the Ventspils City Council?
Yes, indeed, on July 5, the continuation of the first meeting of the newly elected Ventspils City Council took place, where the decision was made. I want to thank the National Alliance, which assessed this situation very pragmatically. We held talks and consultations, and such a vote of support was reached. It is no longer possible to try to block or delay the work of the council. Even if all deputies from For Latvia and Ventspils and the member of the National Alliance Kārlis Vočtavs might not be able to participate in some council meetings, maybe the opposition may delay a decision, but then there must be specific arguments and justification. You may remember that during the pre-election debate, Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis emphasized that in the previous council term, even in opposition, they had supported 90% of all the proposals made by For Latvia and Ventspils. I would like to make it clear that the opposition supported most of the decisions because it would be very difficult to explain to Ventspils residents why they did not support, why they voted against or abstained.
Therefore, I very much hope that the work of the council will be very concrete and practical. To answer whether the co-operation between the party For Latvia and Ventspils and the National Alliance is planned in the long run, I would like to emphasize that our conversation with the representatives of the National Alliance was specifically about this topic. We agreed not on a single vote to elect the chairman of the council or his deputy, but on cooperation for at least four years. Together we will have to deal with a great many issues. There has never been a shortage of work.
This is a very interesting time, a time of great opportunities, especially considering the potential for attracting external funding. In the next 5-7 years, Latvia will have access to such large-scale external financing that it has never had in its history as an independent state. We need to be ready for that, we need to prepare development projects, we need to identify our priorities, and so on. The conversation with the National Alliance was precisely about whether any of the political parties had any "red lines", so to say, also about the city's development priorities. In my opinion, there was a mutual understanding on all issues. During the pre-election debate, the opposition repeatedly stated that all development projects in Ventspils are like expensive toys that are not intended for the population. In fact, the opposite is true. We can prove that all development projects have been implemented to improve the quality of life of Ventspils residents. Ventspils residents also benefit from those projects that are more intended for tourists, stimulating the increase in the flow of visitors to the city of Ventspils. It is very important for Ventspils small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the field of service that tourists visit the city not only in summer but also in winter and the off-season.
I am convinced that the Council is capable of action. We have already set up council committees. By August 5, we plan to agree on which permanent committees will work in the new council term. The work of the City Council has not stopped at any moment, and we will continue to work fully.
Can it be said that currently a coalition has been formed in Ventspils City Council between For Latvia and Ventspils and the National Alliance?
I would like to say unequivocally that we have a coalition now. Even if we do not have a 100% understanding on an issue, we will exchange views and find a solution that is acceptable to both political forces, especially before deciding on resource-intensive issues. We are undoubtedly open to expanding cooperation. Of course, it does not depend only on us, but on the other political parties, on the other elected Members. Edgars Čeporjus, a newly-elected deputy from For Latvia's Development (Latvijas attīstībai), invited all 13 deputies to meet to discuss cooperation. Such a meeting took place, but most of the time everyone had to listen to the statements of Mr Kristovskis and also Mr Landmanis (who participated in the meeting but is not a member of the City Council) about how bad, in their opinion, Ventspils City Council worked during the previous term. This was largely reminiscent of the pre-election debates. In my opinion, there is no need to spend time listening to pre-election speeches now. In addition, if all 13 deputies come together, then it is just another Council meeting, only informal. Political consultations are usually held by two, less often by three political parties. In any case, we are open to proposals and negotiations. I hope that the number of cooperation partners will increase.
Latvia is among the countries for which the European Commission has approved an economic recovery program, and this, as you have already mentioned, opens up great opportunities. How do you assess the concerns about the unfair distribution of external funding (even some coalition ministers have said so), because For Latvia and Ventspils are in opposition to the ruling coalition?
Such risks exist, and the Minister of Welfare, Mr Eglītis, outlined them very openly and clearly. I am convinced that such a policy will not be so easy to implement. In my opinion, it is very difficult to reject a project based solely on some political dislike. On supporting your own people. I know that public institutions also have very experienced professional officials and they objectively assess the merits of projects. It is not so easy to change such a decision, even if someone has such a wish.
Another thing. The amount of funds that will be available is indeed very, very large, 1.82 billion euros. We can only hope the state of Latvia will use all these funds in due time and in good quality. In addition, spend them not just to spend them, but meaningfully. Yes! There are risks, but I do not believe that Ventspils or other cities, where ZZS, Harmony (Saskaņa), or any other opposition party has won the local elections at the national level, could be left without funding. That would be very difficult to do.
Two years ago, the development of Ventspils took place on the basis of planning documents, long-term strategies and development plans. In 2020 and 2021, however, both the impact of the pandemic and government decisions to change the status of the port necessitated major adjustments. What are the most important priorities of Ventspils at the moment, and what do you think should be paid more attention to in the second half of 2021?
Nothing has changed in broad strokes. First of all, it's business. Like any municipality, the key for us is to ensure that new jobs are created. If there are new jobs, then there will be revenue in the city budget and we will be able to achieve the second main goal, caring for our seniors, so that help reaches those who need it most. These are the two main priorities. These are not easy tasks. You have correctly noted the changes in the Freeport of Ventspils. Since December 2019, the state has taken over the Freeports of Ventspils and Riga under its full control, but the results are not satisfactory. A sharp drop in cargo turnover also significantly reduces revenues in the municipal budget.
And the city's capabilities are also affected by individual government decisions. For example, completely voluntarily it was decided in this year's state budget to redistribute the proportion of personal income taxes by 5% in favor of the state, reducing local government revenues. Such decisions are undoubtedly a potential risk for any local government in the implementation of its projects and goals.
Amendments to the Law on Ports are currently in the Saeima. They envisage that the Port of Ventspils will be managed by a state joint-stock company. We have established two working groups - one with the Freeport Authority, and the other with the Ministry of Transport. We are currently in a dialogue about what the law might look like in the final version. We have our own proposals, which we will submit for discussion. I believe that the municipality must be fully involved in port management. As the results of the work show until December 2019, the overall management of ports at that time was undoubtedly better.
As Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš recently said, Latvia needs to carry out smart reindustrialisation. Reindustrialisation of Ventspils was started after 2002, when Russia closed the oil pipeline and the port of Ventspils lost half of the cargo volume at that time - 15 million tons. We have accumulated a lot of experience in developing industry in our Freeport, with the municipality and the state working together. The results are undeniably impressive, creating more than 3,000 new jobs. If such a policy were not implemented, then probably Ventspils would have a third less population than it is now.
One of the last decisions of the previous council was to raise the low-income income threshold to 370 euros per month per person in order not to lose the low-income status. From July 1, the national legislation and calculation methodology changed. There was a risk that a significant number of low-income people would lose their status and would not be eligible for various types of support.
As one of the main development projects, undoubtedly the number one project, it is worth mentioning the science and innovation center VIZIUM. Its construction is in the final stages. We are very much looking forward to completing the exposition by next spring. It will be the first science center in Latvia, and there is great confidence that it will attract a large number of visitors, and VIZIUM is being developed as a high-level educational center, which will help children better understand the laws of science, physics and nature. In cooperation with the Norwegian science center Vilvite, seven educational programs are being developed, which we will offer to children and young people from all over Latvia. And the innovation center will also create 120 new jobs.
We have opened a new kindergarten Pienenīte, in Ventspils there is no longer a queue for kindergartens.
A new public center with a library is being built in Galiņciems, 21st century medicine is unthinkable without high-quality rehabilitation, therefore a new rehabilitation center is being built at Ventspils Hospital.
Construction work has begun on a new Seaside Open-Air Museum building, which will house a modern exposition.
There is a lot of work. The aim of all projects is to improve the quality of life of Ventspils residents.
Ventspils is one of the main tourist destinations in Latvia. Is there an increase in the number of visits to Ventspils this summer, since some of the restrictions have been lifted?
There were enough visitors at the Sea Festival, although we have to take many restrictions into account. The flow of tourism is gradually recovering. Ventspils is really one of the main tourist destinations.
Recently - on June 23 of this year - in the Zīmolstāsti.lv program on Latvian Radio, hosted by Eduards Liniņš, Liene Kupča and Zigurds Zaķis were invited as guests.
The brands of Liepāja and Ventspils were analyzed as the brightest examples of brand management in Latvia. Some statements about Ventspils sounded unacceptable to me in the broadcast, for example, that the first associations about Ventspils are about it being an industrial city. Surveys of Latvian residents show something completely different: the first associations, hearing the name Ventspils, are clearly a beautiful, tidy, clean city. That is why I sent a letter to the management of Latvian Radio, calling for the diversity of opinions in the public media.
After the restoration of Latvia's independence, all Latvian municipalities again had the opportunity to create the image of their own city. What was the brand of Ventspils city at that time? At that time, job search advertisements in the printed press sometimes contained the remark: "Do not offer Ventspils!" Ventspils, a large export port of the former USSR, which handled millions of tons of potentially dangerous cargo, but did not make the necessary investments in infrastructure, at that time had the reputation of a polluted, ecologically dangerous city. That was the starting point. The starting positions of our city were not even from zero, but with a huge negative sign.
To change this, Ventspils in 2000 was the first local government in Latvia to develop a city marketing strategy, envisaging specific activities for three target groups: residents (city), visitors (tourism) and investors (business). Ventspils was the first city in Latvia to start celebrating city festivals, without which no municipality can be imagined today. New events attracted the interest of Latvian (and not only) residents to our city. The contemporary art project "Cow Parade", which took place in 2002 and was repeated in 2012, gained wide popularity. Two Guinness World Records gave it recognition both in Latvia and abroad. In 2010 "The longest flower carpet in the world", and in 2017 the record "Most people planting flower bulbs simultaneously". Ventspils also traditionally hosted annual state-level events: “Šlāgeraptauja”, “Music Bank” and Eurovision national selection finals, the annual youth event “Ghetto Games” and many others. New, attractive recreational areas were created - Ventspils Adventure Park, ski hill “Lemberg's Trilby”, Mazbānītis narrow gauge railway track, two children's playgrounds, Water Amusement Park of Ventspils, Beach Aquapark, the first Blue Flag beach in the Baltics and many others. I would like to emphasize that many Ventspils objects and projects have been highly evaluated on a national and international scale, which is evidenced by the list of the most important awards available here.