PM Krišjānis Kariņš: Clarity is needed on the issue of Pūce parking permits

Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš informed Neatkarīgā through the press secretary Sandra Sabajeva that clarity is needed on the issue of the former Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Juris Pūce's family receiving a free Rīgas Satiksme parking permit, which will be gained after the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) inspection.

As the Prime Minister is the institutional supervisor for the Society Integration Foundation (SIF) and the Prime Minister must monitor the legality of the fund in accordance with the SIF Law, just as KNAB is under the supervision of the Cabinet of Ministers, but the Cabinet of Ministers exercises institutional supervision through the Prime Minister, Neatkarīgā asked several questions to K. Kariņš.

- Do you have information on which person - former Minister Juris Pūce or SIF Director Zaiga Pūce - used the parking permit of Rīgas Satiksme, which J. Pūce requested from the deputies of Riga City Council?

- If yes, which person used this permit?

- Taking into account the norms of conduct included in the SIF Code of Ethics, what actions should Zaiga Pūce take after the scandal in connection with the Rīgas Satiksme parking permit being made available to her husband free of charge?

Must wait for inspection results

We received the following answer from K. Kariņš through S. Sabajeva: “Thank you for your questions, I will send the answer below. At the same time, I would like to point out that in accordance with the Society Integration Foundation (SIF) Law, the activities of the Foundation's secretariat are supervised by the Foundation's Council, which also appoints the SIF director. The fact that the Foundation is under the institutional supervision of the Prime Minister means that the Prime Minister supervises the legality of the Foundation's activities in general. Answer:

KNAB is conducting an investigation into the specific case, the Prime Minister believes that clarity is needed in this matter, which can be gained after the investigation.

Lightning-fast reaction

K. Kariņš was one of the first to react to the public information about the Pūce family gaining the parking permits of Rīgas satiksme. Already on November 11, when J. Pūce still denied trying to get the permit, the Prime Minister announced in his Twitter account:

It is necessary to clarify whether Minister Pūce or his relatives have obtained or used a Riga City Council parking permit, bypassing the established procedure. I expect KNAB to check it and inform the public about the results.

The general has the power

Such a timely statement is natural, as the Prime Minister has large administrative resources to find out the truth. For example, in K. Kariņš's office works a security adviser - a police general, former Chief of the State Police Ints Ķuzis. It would be a trivial matter for him to collect operational information about the parking permits in the Pūce family.

It should be reminded that the following people are in the SIF council: Minister of Culture Nauris Puntulis (Chairman of the Council), Representative of the Prime Minister, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Demographic Policy Imants Parādnieks, the now-former Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development J. Pūce, Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns, Minister of Welfare Ramona Petraviča, Minister of Education and Science Ilga Šuplinska, Chairman of the Board of the Health and Social Service “Artemīda” Jolanta Eihentāle, Vice-Chairman of the Presidium of the European Latvian Association Agnis Sauka, Member of the Board of the Association KIM? Elīna Drāke, Chairman of the Board of the Kurzeme NGO Center Inese Siliņa and Director of the Center for Education Initiatives Daiga Zaķe.

The free parking permit of Rīgas Satiksme could be a valuable moment of reflection not only for the Pūce family, but also for the families of other council members and ordinary SIF employees. Rīgas Satiksme parking permit for ordinary people costs 250 euros per month. Without a permit, one hour parking in Old Riga in the R zone costs 5 euros, but every next one - 8 euros.