The requirement of Minister Sanda Ģirģens (KPV LV) to use a lie detector in the selection of a candidate has been much criticized and may lead to a competition without a result. Recently, the selection of another ministry headed by KPV LV for the position of the Chairman of the Competition Council, which is important for the national economy, also failed.
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The Competition Council monitors and protects competition in all sectors of the economy. Currently, its balance sheet includes the evaluation of the “Clean” waste contract related to Andris Skele and the builders’ cartel case, where millions of fines may have to be paid to the great sharks of this business. An investigation is also underway against a subsidiary of the Latvian Railway for possible restriction of competition in the freight transport services market. Its powers have increased since this year – the council will also have to eliminate distortions of competition caused by the state and local governments.
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However, after the departure of the previous leader Skaidrīte Abrama, the first attempt to find a reputable leader for this small but important institution for the economy failed. The selection rules were developed by the Ministry of Economics headed by Ralph Nemiro (KPV LV) at that time. Candidates were not required to have experience in competition law, but five years of continuous management experience were required. Raivis Kronbergs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, met such criteria. Nemiro does not hide, he addressed Kronberg to participate in the competition.
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The course of the competition was criticized as being too politicized. And although the authors of the statute deny that it was written for one particular person, the activity was low. The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Justice, who is unfamiliar with competition law, changed his mind at the last minute and did not apply for the competition. Of the 12 candidates, none passed the selection.
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The recruitment company “Euro Personals”, which was previously paid 700 euros for market research, is no longer attracted to the repeated competition. The head of the commission states that all possible channels will be used in order to find a good leader for the Competition Council in this competition. But the initiative of the Minister of Economics in addressing his candidates would be seen by Kitskowski as a negative rather than a positive aspect.
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Another investigative institution, which has been without a full-fledged head for a long time and which is also under the supervision of the Minister of “KPV LV”, is the State Police.
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The competition was announced on March 10, two days before the announcement of the emergency situation. However, Covid-19 is not the main reason for the prolongation of the tender and the unforeseen outcome. The Minister of the Interior Sandis Ģirģens has ensured that the candidates will be examined with a polygraph or lie detector. The questions will be drawn up by the Minister himself, the answers of the candidates will not be publicly available and the consequences of failing the test may be decisive.
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Expertise of this device in Latvia is used to ask questions to those involved in criminal proceedings. However, the polygraph has not been used before in the selection of police officers and the requirement for a lie detector is one of the typical ideas of kpv lv without special justification. And the course of the competition so far raises the question of whether such a test will be included in the selection at all.
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Only those in the service can apply for this position. You can run from among senior or senior officers. And must have worked in the system of the Ministry of the Interior for at least 10 years.
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