Olekas defends political hires, demands transparency at Raudondvaris Manor

Employment of politically active people by municipalities or institutions they control is not in itself a violation, provided competent specialists are hired, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas told Žinių radijas on Wednesday, according to LRT.

Olekas was responding to LRT’s report that Raudondvaris Manor, a manor in Kaunas District, had become a workplace for members of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party.

The report said that until several months ago, the institution employed Aurelija, the wife of Kaunas District Mayor Valerijus Makūnas, a Social Democrat. The manor also employs the mayor’s adviser Loreta Navakauskienė and her spouse, Jūratė Kuzmickaitė, an adviser to the education minister in the Seimas. The son of long-serving manor director Snieguolė Navickienė and other people linked to the governing Social Democrats also work there.

Aistė Sinkevičienė, the prime minister’s wife, also works half-time as a public relations specialist at the manor and receives a second salary there.

Olekas said employment procedures should be more open and transparent, but added that people should not be barred from marrying or working because of their political affiliations.

“The more publicity and transparency there is during such employment procedures, the better,” Olekas said. “Let us not make a storm in a teacup and try to work for the benefit of the people.”

The Seimas Anti-Corruption Commission was due to decide on Wednesday whether to launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the employment of Social Democrats.

Kaunas District Municipality began an internal investigation last week into the actions of two employees in connection with the published information. Municipal administration director Mantas Rikteris said one of those being investigated was the head of the Public and International Relations Division, where Sinkevičienė works.

Following the public broadcaster’s investigation, Raudondvaris Manor’s acting director Kotryna Inga Morkūnaitė and deputy director Egidijus Morkūnas were temporarily suspended from their duties.

Olekas criticises ESO after storm

Two weeks after a major storm hit Lithuania, Olekas said he had many complaints about Energijos skirstymo operatorius, or ESO, the country’s electricity distribution operator, arguing that the company had failed to take appropriate measures after earlier storms.

“We have many complaints about ESO, because the necessary conclusions were not drawn from the consequences of the 2024 storm and their removal,” Olekas said.

He said ESO should review how funds allocated for cable installation had been used and should have removed taller trees along power lines before the storms if they posed a risk of falling.

Olekas also said that the centralisation of ESO’s operations had made it more difficult to remove the storm damage, after many of the company’s district branches were closed.

He called for solutions that would make it more effective to repair storm damage to electricity networks, warning that another storm could occur next year. He also said municipalities should plan their own preparedness measures.

According to BNS, electricity supplies were disrupted for more than 268,000 customers after the storm on August 22. Since Monday, ESO customers who were without electricity for more than 72 hours have been receiving compensation.

The Finance Ministry estimates that the financial impact on ESO will be about 18 million euros. The figure may still change, as damage assessments and network restoration work are continuing.