Estonia's Voru County governor to resign

  • 2000-08-24
TALLINN (BNS) - Robert Lepikson, appointed Voru County governor late in 1998, handed his resignation to the interior minister on Aug. 18, accusing the government of dragging out administrative reform.

Lepikson, who worked as Defense Ministry deputy chancellor and interior minister in Mart Siimann's government, promised at the end of 1998 that he would remain the full five-year term in the Voru County governor's office.

"I don't think it is possible to fight against that which I have to represent, the government," Lepikson told the daily newspaper Postimees.

Interior Minister Tarmo Loodus told the daily Eesti Paevaleht documents on Lepikson's discharge would be prepared Aug. 21, and it was possible the government would discharge Lepikson the next day.

According to Postimees, the discharge of Lepikson, a man known for his sharp tongue, which he has used to criticize the activities of Mart Laar's government, has been discussed by several influential politicians of the ruling coalition.

In his own words, the bipartisan Lepikson does not want to accept the present government's decision not to reduce the number of counties for the time being. Like two years before, so also now Lepikson maintains that administrative reform should start with the merger of counties, because it is impossible for the government to normally finance all the fourteen.

"Unification of southeast Estonia's counties would make it possible to organize the school network, public transport, hospitals and other things a small county finds it hard to cope with," said Lepikson, initiator of the so-called Greater Vorumaa idea.

There is no money for the implementation of administrative reform in next year's budget, Interior Minister Tarmo Loodus said.

"It is because administrative reform has failed," said Lepikson, promising to return to business.

Lepikson is a shareholder in Raudtee Erastamise Rahva AS (RER, Railway Privatization People's Ltd Co.), a company set up for the privatization of national railroad Eesti Raudtee by a group of Estonian businessmen. Regional Minister Toivo Asmer did not agree with Lepikson.

"By the local elections in fall 2002, there will be about 70 of the present 247 self-governments left, and I'm rather certain of it," Asmer said. "Lepikson wanted great things done quickly, and he's always been somewhat of a flurry."