RIGA - As one of their last acts in power, the ministers of Latvia's outgoing Cabinet secretly voted to pay themselves a bonus on Oct. 10. The decision, which was only last week revealed by journalists, spurred Latvia's Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) to launch an investigation into whether the Cabinet vote violates the nation's conflict of interest law.
Acting on the suggestion of Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis, the outgoing Cabinet of Ministers held a closed meeting on Oct. 10, three days after parliamentary elections, to discuss final housekeeping issues. Before the meeting adjourned, the Cabinet voted to pay themselves bonuses in the form of a monthly salary.
Janis Dzanuskans, head of the Prime Minister's Office, told the Baltic News Service that Kalvitis had proposed the idea on account of the government's impressive performance.
"It is no secret that the government has done a good job, and voters in the parliamentary elections also showed their appreciation," said Dzanuskans.
He emphasized that the Cabinet had no intention of keeping their decision "a secret."
Asked why, then, was the meeting held behind closed doors, Dzanuskans said the proposal was the last item on the agenda, and that the Cabinet usually discussed final items behind closed doors.
Yet this answer didn't convince political analyst Liga Stafecka, who represents Transparency International Latvia.
"I don't see why the Cabinet meeting was held behind closed doors. It only suggests that their actions would be perceived by the public as a conflict of interest," she said. "It suggests a lack of transparency."
On Oct. 21, KNAB Chief Aleksejs Loskutovs said the bureau would launch an investigation to see whether the Cabinet's decision violates Latvia's conflict of interest law.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation and check how grounded their decision was," said Loskutovs.
He was unable to provide a time schedule for the probe, as "the office staff has a lot of work to do."
"Each investigator is currently working on many cases," the director said. "Therefore, I cannot even give a preliminary date as to when this probe may be completed."
Loskutovs was also tight lipped when asked to comment on the secrecy surrounding the Cabinet's decision.
Speaking on behalf of KNAB, he said: "Of course, [the factor of secrecy] is important to some extent, but not in this case. We want to assess whether there has been a conflict of interest."
Yet other factors also raise suspicion, such as the date chosen for the vote.
"The Cabinet voted to give itself a bonus on Oct. 10, just three days after Latvia's general elections," Stafecka pointed out. "If they had announced this decision before the elections, then the public would definitely have voiced concern. But they purposely waited until after the elections."
The prime minister's salary is based on average public sector wages multiplied by the coefficient 8.9, which currently amounts to 2,162 lats (3,108 euros) a month. Ministerial salaries are calculated by similar methods, and currently stand around 1,944 lats per month.
Based on these calculations, the Baltic News Service estimated that the PM and his Cabinet members received approximately 35,000 lats, or a bonus equal to one month's average salary each.
Stafecka stressed that two main concerns were at issue; one, the decision was not made public, and two, nobody specifically explained for what reasons the Cabinet ministers deserved a bonus.
"Kalvitis' explanation that 'they did a good job' is not enough," Stafecka said. "The public has the right to know exactly why their ministers deserve a bonus."
Yet as far as she's aware, there exists no system by which the public can vote on whether government officials deserve a bonus. And this, Stafecka added, is the most complicated question at hand.
"The decision for a bonus was made by all 19 cabinet members. Clearly this poses a conflict of interest, since they're voting for their own benefit," she said. "The question now is, who will vote in their place?"
