Minister of Economics Jānis Vitenbergs (KPV LV) took office six months ago when his party member, Ralph Nemiro, resigned. The beginning of Wittenberg’s activities in the Minister’s chair coincided with the time of the emergency, when all the ailments of our economy worsened and in addition came the pandemic that hit the tourism industry and related areas the hardest. However, in this crisis, Latvia has significant financial resources available to stabilize its economy. In an interview with the portal “Delfi”, the Minister of Economics reveals some behind-the-scenes distribution of money, how long will be enough “airBaltic“He does not hide the fact that some companies will be forced to close during or after the pandemic, but we now have a wide range of tools at our disposal to help those in difficulty.
You are a young politician, and you come from the private sector. What do you see as the main differences and what would you like to bring to the public administration from the private sector?
In every way, I am a new politician, I am also the youngest minister in this Cabinet. After years new and also after experience in politics.
Throughout his professional life, both himself and his team have had to earn a salary, it has depended on the result. This is the biggest difference not seen in the public sector. This is a big problem, although the idea is not popular with public sector employees. In public administration, people are not as motivated as in the private sector.
How can public administration employees be better motivated?
The strategies of the ministries, their subordinate institutions, should be oriented towards the fulfillment of tasks, they should be measurable, so that the achievements could be evaluated afterwards. At the moment, due to the pandemic, I do not have to go on long trips around the world, and that is a kind of plus, because the meetings take place remotely, it saves time and I can devote more time to organizing the work of the ministry. For six months, I have had the opportunity to meet my ministry colleagues better than my predecessors.
Your official’s declaration for 2019 shows that you have savings, insurance, but, for example, no credit. What is your strategy for money as a tool?
Both myself and my family are simple people without appearances. There was a time when, while still living in a family with parents, the hand was not so great.
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