From@AndrisKulbergsI have not supported and do not support state funding intended for the Bridge federation. I want to remind that the aim of the government decision of 16 June was to support the hosting of international championships, not to allocate funding to one specific sport. The aim of the Cabinet of Ministers' decision was to help Latvia attract and host international sports championships, not to cover expenses after the fact for events already held for one specific sport. At the Cabinet meeting, both in the protocol and in the audio recording, it was clearly explained that such funding could be allocated in an open competition with all sports federations participating - in the future, not for an already ongoing event. I also have a specific question about the planned 14,000 euros for 'evaluation of competition results, as well as development of new, transparent and uniform criteria.' If this sum is needed to develop transparent and verifiable procurement criteria after the funding distribution, a legitimate question arises: on exactly what criteria were the 225,000 euros distributed this time? I believe that the Ministry of Education and Science must submit a calculation of this sum, the source of funding, and procurement documents, and must justify why this work cannot be done by officials of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economics, whom the Cabinet has already tasked with monitoring the competition results. I am not clear what the employees of the Ministry of Education and Science are doing, if an external evaluator needs to be hired for 14k EUR? This waste and the constant engagement of meaningless consultants must be stopped.
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Budget: Posts and News mentioning Apvienotais saraksts
Political posts and news in Budget that mention Apvienotais saraksts, from monitored Latvian public sources.
Let us remind Kulbergs what we wrote here, at the time when he was the only one who did not know that money was allocated to the bridge championship. https://t.co/Z7TrJenw0k
From@ivchixInteresting about that bridge championship - if the event is so good and valuable, why are the Riga City Council and also the government deciding about it at the last moment? And how did Parādnieks come up with announcing on the website before the official decisions that it is 'supported by the Ministry of Education and Science, Riga City Council, RTU'?
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Let's remind Kulbergs what we wrote here, at the time when he was the only one who didn't know that money was being allocated for the bridge championship. https://t.co/DNkrP5yrkL
From@ainars_k3@JurgisLiepnieks ...I'll add that we cannot find any specific numbers about the organization costs and sources (I've been looking for the last 3 years)...some kind of 'bridge' peculiarity?...😆
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We will remind Kulbergs what we wrote here, at the time when he alone did not know that money was being allocated for the bridge championship.
From@ELEVEN_665@JurgisLiepnieks While the budget boys play the highest political bridge and deal 400 packages in generous tricks, the taxpayer is again assigned the fate of a bare-handed servant.
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Let's remind Kulbergs what we wrote here, at the time when he was the only one who didn't know that money was being allocated for the bridge championship.
From@FOXXXIC@JurgisLiepnieks If money is allocated for some bridge, then Zoli should be placed in the budget lines by law, as one of the national sports.
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Let's remind Kulbergs what we wrote here, at the time when he was the only one who didn't know that money was being allocated for the bridge championship. https://t.co/VTpYfX0aau
From@citskovskisj@JurgisLiepnieks It's a pity that Kulbergs increasingly gets entangled in the traps of coalition partners. Active and open public communication is a big plus. But rapid change of opinions - from decisive action to compromise will gradually backfire. Support for the bridge tournament is a vivid example.
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Let's remind Kulbergs what we wrote here, at the time when he was the only one who didn't know that money is being allocated for the bridge championship. https://t.co/Tnr9lI8Ld1
From@JurgisLiepnieksBridge is an interesting, complex game. At some point in my early youth I was fascinated. But the government, which is given almost half a million of tax money, better keep quiet about austerity in the future. Pitiful money squanderers!
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@maijaroze_ who is waiting for that? Waiting that maybe something could be done? Well, something more than allocating money to a bridge championship and then wondering who did it :))))))
From@maijaroze_@JurgisLiepnieks How adequate is it to expect that what New Unity has accomplished over 16 years, Kulbergs can fix in 3 months (!!)?
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Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (AS) has demanded that the Ministry of Education and Science immediately submit documents on the distribution of 225,000 euros of state funding for organizing international sports events and explain the allocation of 147,366 euros to the Latvian Bridge Federation, because both supported bridge championships had already ended before the competition was announced.
From@Duksis6@AndrisKulbergs @taisnibaskalps @VL_TBLNNK @Apvienotais_ Andris, stop making excuses! Your duty is to find a solution! I have only one question: is there no institution in our state that sees the wasting of money here!?
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Yesterday we visited the border area - Terehova (border with Russia) and Pāternieki (with Belarus). While politically there are discussions about what and where can/cannot be transported in the EU ecosystem, in everyday life there is simply work that directly concerns the Ministry of Finance. Customs is a structural unit of VID, but VID itself is under the supervision of the Finance Ministry. The most pressing issue - for example, customs officers' salaries, which compete with border guards. We must try to resolve differences so as to reduce unproductive inter-agency competition. From the eastern side come goods such as Temu and Aliexpress, which stay a bit in Latvia, but most goes further to Europe. Can we facilitate customs clearance more in Latvia to ensure more taxes for the budget? A very interesting topic. Then Uzbeks traditionally bring watermelons, berries, and mushrooms, which are processed in Poland and return to our stores. In the opposite direction, a large part of cargo is EU-produced alcohol, for example. They drink, we get transit tax money and jobs in the border area. A surprising order has been introduced at the border, electronic queues, no crowding there. The biggest challenge is sanctions cases, we have to control hundreds of thousands of items, understand what is what. Even a regular house facade panel can or cannot be a sanctioned product. Handling confiscations sometimes takes months and requires very good training of customs officers. Mostly various everyday spare parts, construction materials, nothing sensational. Cigarettes are now smuggled much less, they are more produced domestically, but drugs are also caught, like this week 250 kg of heroin. A very valuable visit, we also discussed drone matters, they are 'used to it'. Also lessons from the storm in a no-communication and no-electricity situation. What we need to be ready for next time, but that also requires funding - where and how to organize the system to be better prepared next time. Well, we'll take that into account to find the most optimal solutions. It is always important to be on site, talk to people directly, office reports don't give such an impression. Meanwhile, in Riga yesterday there was a full moon. Due to the skewed fantasies of officials, a state of emergency was pushed to be introduced at the border to more easily resolve practical technical issues. A fuss arose that also echoed in foreign press. Completely unnecessary noise over stupidity.
From@MarisKucinskisMillions of illegal cigarettes, hundreds of kg of narcotics and sanctioned goods worth millions – just a small glimpse of what @vid_gov Customs Administration officers intercept at the eastern border, protecting Latvia's economic security and providing service to honest entrepreneurs https://t.co/vbB3yBIaJD
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From@karlis_serzantsStrazdiņa's reports from the USA never cease to surprise. Instead of finally finding some local experts, at least if not politicians, from among people close to politics, she calmly reads news from her phone. For 200k of taxpayers' money per year…
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Fantastic head of government:) Besides, back then the whole Twitter thread was written down how justified it was or not etc. Everyone knew where that money would go, except... the responsible one - Kulbergs! https://t.co/kJg9nXW0Ob
From@evita_purinaIn mid-June, Kulbergs' government gave money to IZM, so that it (after a symbolic competition) would give it to the Bridge Federation. This morning the same Kulbergs on 900sek: “I only saw it for the first time yesterday; let IZM and NA come and explain what kind of algorithm that is and how it could be awarded retroactively.”
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I would suggest starting by rereading the order you signed yourself :) https://t.co/KXA01INOFP https://t.co/frw23gfIiS
From@evita_purinaIn mid-June, the Kulbergs government gives money to the Ministry of Education and Science, so that it (after a symbolic competition) would give it to the Bridge Federation. This morning the same Kulbergs on 900 seconds: “I only saw it for the first time yesterday; let the Ministry of Education and Science and NA come and explain what algorithm this is and how it could have been awarded retroactively.”
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It must be understood that in both cases the government is controlled by Unity, which will not allow any significant expenditure reductions. Moreover, currently JV has the opportunity to shift responsibility onto someone else.
From@DavidsZalansDo I see correctly that under Siliņa the debt grew more slowly than under @AndrisKulbergs ? https://t.co/tMrhFwngNL
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Fact check. Requirement to grant Latvia a €7 billion EU grant is still just an idea
The next Saeima must not receive the budget “blind” - Kučinskis
airBaltic is unable to operate without additional financial support - PM
The real cost of Rail Baltica will become known in September — Kozlovskis
Compensations for Saeima deputies for housing and transport can be discussed — president