Sunday, January 11, 2015

Latvian Corruption Or Incompetence?

Just another example of Latvian corruption. I suppose some would call the following an example of incompetence but if the State Audit Office were to turn this over to KNAB for investigation I'm sure it would quickly reveal sticky fingers on the part of the administrators of these funds, half of which are from the EU. So don't laugh too hard, that's your taxes being spent. Of the ten municipalities audited only one (Liepaja) was deemed as having distributed funds properly. Pretty awesome by any metric one would care to apply!

"A poor family" owned apartments in Riga and Jurmala house with land

One of the richest "poor families" having received poverty assistance lives in Sigulda - owning apartments in Riga and a house in Jurmala according to the State Audit Office's audit results for the provision of social assistance policies.

The audit examined 59 Sigulda families, of which the poverty status was granted to 39 families. Of these, 11 low-income families poverty status was deemed reasonable, but 24 families had no right to obtain such status.

The auditors found that families who had wrongly been given assistance failed to meet certain conditions to be taken into consideration for the granting of the status of poverty. For example, nine families in the audit owned a vehicle, two families owned shares in companies.

Three of the investigated families income exceeded the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations setting the level of low-income families to receive the poverty status. From these families for one person the municipality did not take into account income from operating activities and sale of real estate, as well as the Rural Support Service received subsidies for agriculture. One family a owned vehicle and real estate.

The poverty status was granted to the two families that owned the vehicle for more than three real estate and shares in companies. Furthermore, the level of family income in excess of the statutory order to get the status. One of these families owned two vehicles, five real estate, one of which is the apartment in the city center and the land with a house in Jurmala plus shares in two companies. Yet this family two months before acquiring the status of a needy family had sold two apartments in the center of Riga, gaining income of 192,087 euros.

What other recognized as needy family member was issued a loan of several tens of euros.

As reported, during the audit of ten municipalities of social assistance, the State Audit Office concluded that there is a drastic difference in social welfare policy. There are municipalities with quite easy to be poor personality, but there are also those in which such status is granted or at a set number of limitations status.

Also found that social services officials do not check what is the status of prayers level of income and material situation, thus allowing for the needy family status is granted to those who own without housing is still only six real estate or even a family owned nine vehicles.

I wonder if any of the recipients of these poverty assistance funds are sitting members of the Seima, it seems like too good a deal for them to pass up. ;)


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