Appetite Comes with Eating: State-Supported Manabalss.lv Requests More 0 10

The Latvian platform ManaBalss.lv was founded in 2011 and has since hosted 140 public initiatives, of which 83 reached the Saeima and became laws, writes Grani.lv.

On this basis, ManaBalss (which operates its business through grants and private donations) stated that the government should contribute to its funding. After all, public opinion is important, and the portal lacks the resources to assist every initiative author, monitor the progress of proposals, provide valuable advice, and maintain contact with politicians. All of this requires time, knowledge, and, most importantly, money, which is insufficient.

And the platform has indeed achieved its goal. To prove to everyone that the voice of the people is not a mere sound to those in power, the Saeima, despite the acute budget deficit and the fact that ManaBalss.lv is a private company, decided to allocate 150,000 euros to it.

It would seem — rejoice, businessmen. A dream has come true. But — no. The platform was dissatisfied with the allocated amount. As stated by the ManaBalss management, this funding is only enough to maintain basic functions, while a minimum of twice that amount is required for the platform to operate fully. A budget of 300,000 to 400,000 euros per year is necessary to enhance security, implement technical improvements, moderate content, track all submitted initiatives, carry out legal adjustments, work with initiative authors, and invest in redesign.

If politicians are swayed by these complaints again and consider them valid arguments, then another 150,000 to 200,000 euros of Latvian taxpayers' money will end up in the pockets of private businessmen who have made a foolproof move to secure a stable and predictable income from their activities.

Although, to be honest, it would be more honorable to allocate these funds to a state structure that could very well handle the same tasks.