Law enforcement institutions are asked to assess the circumstances of road construction in Trakai district
The Ministry of Transport and Communications has reached out to the Special Investigation Service and the Prosecutor General's Office for the assessment of possible breaches of law in the allocation of funds to the road construction in Trakai district. The institutions are also asked to investigate if the former directorate of the Lithuanian Road Administration (LRA) had been under political pressure to perform illegal actions.
„Following an internal audit of road funding from the plan of economic stimulus and mitigation of coronavirus consequences (COVID-19), some decisions of the Ministry from last year raise serious suspicions. There is ample evidence that the directorate of the Lithuanian Road Administration had undergone political pressure for possible unlawful acts for at least one object – the road reconstruction in Trakai district. Therefore, by forwarding the material and reaching out to law enforcement institutions, we ask for an assessment of all circumstances to leave no questions unanswered,” says Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis.
According to the Minister, it is evident that significant changes of the road funding system are necessary. The Ministry plans to submit a proposal for one such change – the restructuring of the LRA from a state enterprise to a limited company – to the government this week.
The Ministry has asked the law enforcement institutions to assess whether the former Minister of Transport and Communications Jaroslav Narkevič legally allocated EUR 366 300 to the road construction between Šklėriai and Aluona I, which is slightly over 1 km, although the Ministry was informed by the LRA that the road does not qualify for funding from the plan of economic stimulus and mitigation of coronavirus consequences (COVID-19). The institutions are also asked to assess whether the Ministry failed to assess the risks of not being able to complete the project within the required time when on 30 June 2020 it entrusted the LRA with executing the order of the Minister to fund the above mentioned road and complete it by 30 November 2020.
On 1 July 2020, the LRA informed the Ministry that the orders of the Minister of Transport and Communications to allocate funding as well as the request to execute them are in conflict with the existing legislation, i.e. illegal, and rejected them. Minister Jaroslav Narkevič soon dismissed the former head of LRA Vitalijus Andrejevas from office.
On 21 August 2020, the LRA informed the Ministry in writing that the public procurement contract for road reconstruction has been signed.
The Prosecutor General‘s Office and the Special Investigation Service (STT) are also asked to assess whether the funds allocated to the reconstruction of low-priority road in the Trakai district have been used legally and effectively, the role of the former political leadership in this process and whether the newly appointed LRA head Remigijus Lipkevičius had been under any pressure to execute the decisions of the former Minister regarding the construction of the above mentioned road.
STT's anti-corruption assessment of the Description last year found that its provisions may be interpreted and applied ambiguously and are not sufficient to ensure a clear and transparent distribution of funds in accordance with the intended purpose.
Due to the repair of this section of the road and the funding allocated to it, the Ministry conducted an internal audit in the spring of this year. It states that the Minister's decision to allocate funding for this section of the road was taken in violation of the requirements of the Description. The LRA did not apply for funding for this project, as it was not included in the priority gravel road funding line and until 2022 the company did not plan to implement it, moreover, this road does not correspond to the defined concept of a road of national importance. This access to the settlement is a dead end, it has a low traffic intensity, no applications have been received for its repair. No technical project was prepared and approved for the road when allocating funding. According to the submitted work schedule, the contractor planned to perform the work only after 12 months. However, under possible pressure from the former Ministry’s management, the contractor said it would make every effort to complete the road construction work by the end of 2020.
According to the Ministry, some of the works on this road have not yet been completed. EUR 273 000 were allocated to the project from the plan economic stimulus and mitigation of coronavirus (COVID-19) consequences. The remaining 127 thousand were used from another source of funding, i. e. the Road Maintenance and Development Program, although no funding was planned for this project from this source.
Last updated: 11-05-2021
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