KNAB asks Jūrmala ethics panel to review officials’ golf outings

Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has asked Jūrmala Municipality’s Ethics Commission to assess Mayor Jānis Lediņš and his office head, council member Gatis Truksnis, being at a golf course during working hours, LSM reported, citing a KNAB statement on X.

Latvian Television’s de facto programme observed Lediņš and Truksnis spending several hours at a golf course during the middle of working days. The programme recorded them at the golf club three times in the past two weeks, each time around midday on a weekday.

Lediņš said he did not have fixed working hours and that results were more important than the time spent in an office. Truksnis also said that his working hours were not regulated.

Jūrmala Municipality told Latvian Television that the employment contracts of staff in the mayor’s office, including Truksnis, provide for a 40-hour working week.

KNAB said the situation alone did not provide grounds for assessment in the context of administrative or criminal liability, but did not rule out the need for institutional attention.

The bureau said the question of municipal officials and employees being away from their workplace during working hours should be assessed through the institution’s internal controls.

KNAB also stressed that the head of a public institution must not only manage its work but also demonstrate integrity, responsibility and equal treatment of employees through personal conduct. A leader’s actions shape an institution’s culture and perceptions of acceptable standards, including how responsibility for working time and the performance of duties is understood in practice.

KNAB called on Jūrmala Municipality’s Ethics Commission to assess the situation to ensure that consistent standards of responsibility and integrity are followed in public administration and to strengthen public trust in the municipality.