The Ministry of Defense (MOD), after evaluating the responsibility of the officials involved in the army’s food procurement, has decided not to extend the professional service contract with one representative of the National Armed Forces (NBS), the ministry announced.
The Ministry of Defense (MOD), after evaluating the responsibility of the officials involved in the army’s food procurement, has decided not to extend the professional service contract with one representative of the National Armed Forces (NBS), the ministry announced.
Five disciplinary cases are currently under investigation. One of the six disciplinary cases was terminated because it was decided not to extend the professional service contract with the NBS official evaluated in it.
In connection with the procurement of logistics services for the supply of food for the needs of the army, the head of the procurement commission, now a former member of the National Union (NA), Āriks Ezeriņš and the head of the Procurement and Contracts Department of the Supply Department of the NBS Security Command, Imants Freibergs, have already been dismissed from their positions.
Two officials have been reprimanded.
Meanwhile, the government decided on Tuesday to establish an interdisciplinary service inspection commission to ensure a comprehensive assessment of the responsibility of the officials involved in the procurement in accordance with the State Audit Office.
As reported, in December 2022, the Roja-registered company “Zītari LZ” won a contract worth 220 million euros for the supply of food to the NBS for the next five years.
A contract was concluded with SIA “Zītari LZ” on the creation of a logistics system that unites a number of food producers and other merchants to ensure food supply to all NBS units throughout the territory of Latvia. According to the contract, the company should also provide the necessary food stocks at the request of the NBS. Also, the agreement provided for the company’s obligation to ensure the production and supply of food necessary for the NBS in case of war.
Recently, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) reached an agreement with the company on the early termination of the army’s food supply contract. The contract will be terminated on December 31 of this year, including an agreement that the merchant will not make any claims and the state will not incur any losses accordingly.
At the same time, work is underway to organize a new procurement.
The management of the defense department has informed that the conclusions of the inspections carried out within the MoD regarding the mentioned procurement “to a large extent echo” the conclusions of the audit of the State Audit Office (VK). A large number of VK’s recommendations have already been implemented to make the procurement system more transparent.
In order to use criminal procedural methods to check whether criminal offenses were committed during the procurement procedure from October 18, 2021 to January 10 of this year, KNAB started criminal proceedings on March 3. The criminal process has been initiated under three articles of the Criminal Law for stating false information about property or other income in a large amount in the declaration, abusing official position for greedy purposes and disclosing undisclosed information that is not a state secret.
Meanwhile, the General Prosecutor’s Office has concluded in the inspection that the army leadership, when signing the contract with “Zītari LZ” for food supply, did not evaluate important issues of an organizational nature and did not ensure a uniform and clear procedure for concluding food supply contracts for the transition period.
