Minister denies involvement in adviser’s hiring at Raudondvaris manor

Education Minister Raminta Popovienė says she had no role in hiring her adviser in the Seimas, Jūratė Kuzmickaitė, at Raudondvaris manor, a Kaunas district municipality-owned manor. Popovienė told journalists on Monday, according to LRT, that she did not know Kuzmickaitė worked there.

“I am definitely not connected with it,” Popovienė said at the Government building.

“I really did not even know that she worked there and did not assess it. I simply invited a professional and competent person to join my team,” the minister said.

Popovienė said she had known Kuzmickaitė for many years. She added that her adviser is not a member of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, works half-time in the Seimas and does not engage in political activities.

In mid-August, LRT’s Investigation Department reported that Raudondvaris manor had become a workplace for people linked to the Social Democratic Party. The report said that Prime Minister’s wife Aistė Sinkevičienė also receives a second salary there. It also said that Aurelija, the spouse of Kaunas district Mayor Valerijus Makūnas, had worked at the institution until several months ago.

The manor also employs the mayor’s adviser Loreta Navakauskienė and her spouse, as well as Kuzmickaitė, the son of the manor’s longtime director Snieguolė Navickienė and other people linked to the ruling Social Democrats.

Raudondvaris manor receives most of its funding from the Kaunas district municipality, and its budget is about 4 million euros.

Opposition members of the Seimas have said that the situation should be examined by the relevant authorities. BNS reported that the Seimas Anti-Corruption Commission was considering opening an investigation.

A meeting planned for last week did not take place after Social Democratic commission members Ramūnas Vyžintas, Lilija Vaitiekūnienė, Ilona Gelažnikienė and Roma Janušonienė failed to attend.

“Members of the Seimas are free to decide how they carry out their activities,” Popovienė said when asked about the absent members of her party.

Asked whether such an investigation was necessary, the minister said the commission was best placed to decide its direction under its rules of procedure. She added that the municipality could also assess the situation and take action under legislation governing public service.

“All institutions will assess the situation based on what it is, and whether it really is as it is being described,” Popovienė said.